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UH Law Center remembers former Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Cochran '84

Judge Cathy Cochran

Judge Cathy Cochran
1944-2021

Feb. 9, 2021 - Cathy Cochran, a 1984 graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, and a judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, died Sunday at the age of 76.

Cochran was appointed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal court in the state, by then-Gov. Rick Perry in 2001. She was elected in 2002, and retired from her post in 2014. In 2006, Cochran was named Jurist of the Year by the Texas State Bar's Criminal Justice Section.

Cochran had experience with trial and appellate cases for the Harris County District Attorney's Office and was most recently Of Counsel at Rusty Hardin & Associates.

Cochran was a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. She also served as a member of the Law Center’s faculty, teaching criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence. She was the editor-in-chief of the Houston Law Review during her time as a Law Center student.

A private burial at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin is planned.

Click here to read more about the life of Judge Cochran in the Austin American-Statesman.

Click here to read more about the life of Judge Cochran in the Houston Chronicle.

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