Articles

Profile: Hon. Arthur J. Cooperman

By Michael Goldsmith

If any radio sports call in show host hangs up on "Arthur from Queens," he should hope he never appears as a defendant in the Criminal Term of the State Supreme Court in Queens County.

Dubbed as one of the hardest working judges in the city by the New York Post, New York State Supreme Court Justice and sports enthusiast Arthur J. Cooperman has resided in Queens for over 40 years. Justice Cooperman received his degree in English from N.Y.U. in 1955. From 1955 to 1957, he served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. After his honorable discharge, and after contemplating a career in journalism, the future Supreme Court Justice enrolled at the N.Y.U. School of Law, and earned his LL.B. in 1960.

From 1960 to 1966, Justice Cooperman was associated with several general practice law firms, concentrating on commercial and negligence litigation. For the next two years, Justice Cooperman served as Assistant Counsel on the Committee on Grievances, at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

In 1968, Justice Cooperman was elected to the New York State Assembly, and served the 24th Assemble District (Jamaica and Flushing) from 1969 to 1972, and the 27th A.D. (Jamaica, Flushing) from 1973 to 1979. Among his accomplishments, Assemblyman Cooperman was the primary sponsor of the Jury Reform Act and the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, during the 1977 Session; he was the sponsor of the equitable distribution bill which became law in 1980; he served as the Chairman of the Committee on Commerce from 1975 to 1976; and also served as Chairman of the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary from 1976 to 1979.

While serving in the Assembly, Justice Cooperman maintained a private law practice in Jamaica, consisting of negligence and commercial litigation, real estate, Surrogate's matters, defense at attorney disciplinary proceedings, and no-fault arbitration.

Judge Cooperman began his career in the judiciary upon his election to the Civil Court in 1980. In July of that year, he was appointed Acting Supreme Court Justice in the Criminal Term. Justice Cooperman ascended to the Supreme Court in 1983, after his election in November, 1982. Justice Cooperman began in the Civil Term, and was transferred back and forth to Criminal term, where he now presides.

While in Criminal Term, Justice Cooperman presided in several publicized cases. In 1986, the first police officer/stun gun case was tried before him. Two officers were accused, and eventually convicted, of torturing a suspect with a stun gun. "It was strange," Justice Cooperman recalled. "You would go home and see the case on television and in the newspapers. It was a circus. Artificial light flooded the hallways for the cameras."

Another publicized case was the trial of Tony Harrison, who, while in custody, was being transferred from the Queens D.A.'s office to Rykers Island. Somehow, he managed to steal a weapon from the locker room, and killed two police officers on the road near LaGaurdia Airport. "There were wreaths [where the officers were slain] for years," said Justice Cooperman. Eventually, Harrison was convicted of double homicide, plus an additional count of murder.

Six years ago, Justice Cooperman had to write one of the first DNA decisions. At that time, the law was in flux in that area. The 27 page decision was the longest he ever had to write. "I spent a portion of my summer vacation reading every Appellate decision, law review and profession professional article there were," said the Judge. "I also had to familiarize myself with "alleles" and other "polymorphic probes"." Justice Cooperman was "familiar with language, but not the concepts" as he studied science in college, before switching to English as a major. "If I stuck with the science courses, I would have been a doctor, not a lawyer," remarked the Judge.

That dedication may be why, on April 22, 1996, the New York Post included Justice Cooperman on its honor roll, "The Diligent 21" judges who are not just "statistically productive, but provide due process and equal justice to those who come before them." The article noted that while most Queens Supreme Court judges handle at least 15 trials each year, "Judge Arthur Cooperman presided at 25 last year." Other Queens Supreme Court Justices on that list were Justices Richard Butcher, Thomas Demakos, Steven Fisher, Robert Hanophy, and Joan O'Dwyer.

Justice Cooperman said that "although sometimes it may not seem that way, I enjoy what I do." I try to be fair. I try to decide issues on what I believe the law says. While I enjoy the dynamics of trial work. I take the job seriously. I was elected to represent the people and since the people employ me, I have to serve them."

Justice Cooperman also has had a distinguished academic career. From 1890 to 1985, he taught at the Queens College paralegal program, where he was an instructor on legal ethics. In 1993 and 1996, he was a faculty member at the Unified Court System Summer Judicial Seminar.

Among his many activities, Justice Cooperman has been very supportive of the Queens County Bar Association, and, among other committee work, served as Associate Editor of the Bar Bulletin for eight years from 1966 to 1979. While serving in the Assembly, Justice Cooperman was the Coordinator of the Committee on American Principles Annual High School Bus Trip, which sponsored a bus trip to Albany for Queens high School seniors to allow them to see the government in action.

Among his many accomplishments, Justice Cooperman may be the unofficial Judicial Sports Trivia champion. "I love to watch and talk about sports," said the Judge. In his chambers, he has an autographed picture of Bobby Thompson hitting "the shot heard around the world" against the Brooklyn Dodgers in that classic playoff game of 1951. Justice Cooperman also has a photo, signed by many of the old New York Giants, depicting the last N.Y. Giants game played at the Polo Grounds. Currently, Justice Cooperman roots for the football Giants, and often can be found attending St. John's basketball games.

Justice Cooperman is a family man. He has three children, ages 10, 13, and 33. His wife, familiar to many Queens attorneys, is Marsha Weinstein, Esq., formally of Kew Gardens, who now has an office in Manhattan. On his desk is a paper weight, painted Mets blue and orange by his daughter.