Ralph Delano Cook (born April 29, 1944) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 1993 to 2001. Governor Jim Folsom appointed Cook to finish the term of Oscar Adams upon Adams' retirement.[1][2]

Early life, education, and career

Raised in Jefferson County, Alabama, Cook was "the second of three children of Joe and Nannie Cook", who owned and operated a cleaning service in Bessemer.[3] Cook received his B.S. from Tennessee State University and his J.D. from Howard University School of Law.[4] He thereafter moved to California, where he taught at San Jose State University and at Cabrillo College.[4][3] He was an administrative analyst for the city of Berkeley, California, from 1971 to 1973, leaving at the end of 1973 to take a position as a deputy district attorney in Alabama.[3][5]

After returning to Alabama, he also taught at Miles Law School, and was named the dean of the law school in September 1976,[6] serving in that capacity until 1990.[3]

Judicial career

Cook was the first black person to be elected to a state district judgeship in Jefferson County, Alabama, the largest county in the state,[7] where he served for four and a half years.[3] He thereafter became the first black person to be elected to the circuit court for the same county.[7]

Cook was sworn in as a justice of the state supreme court in November 1993.[7] In November 1994, Cook, running as a Democrat defeated Republican challenger Mark Montiel to win election to a full term on the court.[8] In his 2000 bid for reelection to the court, however, Cook was defeated by Republican challenger Lyn Stuart.[9]

Personal life

Cook married Charlsie Davis, also of Jefferson County, with whom he had two daughters and a son.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Tom Hughes, "Pioneering justice swears in successor", The Montgomery Advertiser (October 31, 1993), p. 1B.
  2. ↑ "Justice Adams Announces Retirement; Circuit Judge Ralph Cook is Appointed" (PDF). Alabama Court News. October 1993.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Justices have much in common", The Montgomery Advertiser (October 31, 1993), p. 1B, 6B.
  4. 1 2 3 "RALPH D. COOK: Associate Justice - 1993-2001" (PDF). Judiciary of Alabama. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ "City official accepts post in Alabama", The Berkeley Gazette (December 7, 1973), p. 1.
  6. ↑ "Bessemer judge new Miles dean of law", Birmingham Post-Herald (September 16, 1976), p. A7.
  7. 1 2 3 Phillip Rawls, "Ralph Cook becomes second black on state Supreme Court", Birmingham Post-Herald (November 2, 1993), p. D4.
  8. ↑ Bob Johnson, "Cook, Kennedy win court races", Birmingham Post-Herald (November 10, 1994), p. C1.
  9. ↑ Kirkland, Kay (November 8, 2000). "Coffee County favors Bush". The Southeast Sun.
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