Former criminal appellate judge held in esteem
Former Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Cathy Cochran, who helped shaped legal policy in Houston and across the state, including with one opinion focused on convictions based on outdated forensic science, died Sunday. She was 76.
Cochran served on the state’s highest criminal court for almost 14 years. She was considered among the most influential judges on the court, helping draft opinions that shepherded her bench through groundbreaking reforms.
The longtime appellate attorney began her career at 37 after graduating from the University of Houston Law Center in 1984. She worked on trial and appellate cases for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and later joined joined the criminal defense practice Rusty Hardin & Associates,
“She gave every issue the treatment of a scholar.” Andy Drumheller, defense attorney
where she worked on and off until her death.
Cochran had dreams of serving on the appellate court — she lost her first bid in 1994 — but entered the policymaking arena when she served on a criminal justice task force for thenGov. George W. Bush and in 1995 became the director of his criminal justice policy team.
Gov. Rick Perry appointed Cochran to the Texas court of Criminal Appeals in 2001. She was elected to office in 2002, re-elected in 2008, and served there until her retirement from the bench in 2014.
Her time on the court overlapped with an influx of exonerations based on new DNA testing, and she wrote an opinion that led to a law giving inmates another chance to appeal their case if the forensic science behind a conviction has been shown to be outdated, according to Texas Monthly.
An elected Republican, Cochran was known on the bench as the legal brain and moderate swing vote.
Her trove of knowledge made her an invaluable co-worker, said Andy Drumheller, a defense attorney who met Co
chran while working at Hardin’s office in 1998.
“If I stumble upon a legal issue that I want to get oriented to, I will look for Cathy’s opinions just as a starting place,” Drumheller said. “Her scholarship was so wide and her curiosity so great that when she decided to take on a subject ... she gave every issue the treatment of a scholar and the best lawyer you can imagine.”
Cochran garnered many accolades, including being the Texas Bar Association’s 2006 jurist of the year.
Cochran, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and had spent several months in hospice care, died at her Wimberley home, the Austin American- Statesman reported.
A private burial at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin is planned, the Statesman reported, adding that the family hopes to hold a public memorial service when the pandemic allows.