Eugene A. Cook

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Eugene A. Cook

| honorific-suffix =

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| office = Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, Place 3

| term_start = September 1, 1988

| term_end = December 31, 1992

| appointer = Bill Clements

| predecessor = James P. Wallace

| successor = Rose Spector

| birth_name = Eugene Augustus Cook III

| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|5|2}}

| birth_place = Houston, Texas

| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|8|23|1938|5|2}}

| death_place =

| party = Republican

| spouse = Sondra Attaway

| children = 1 son, 1 daughter

| residence =

| education = University of Houston (B.A., J.D.)
University of Virginia (LL.M)

}}

Eugene Augustus Cook III (May 2, 1938 – August 23, 2020) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas from September 1, 1988 to December 31, 1992.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Houston, Texas to Eugene A. Cook Jr. and Estelle Mary Cook, he attended Milby High School, and received a B.A. in accounting from the University of Houston in 1961, followed by a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1966.{{cite web|url=http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?pers_id=3064|title=Eugene Augustus Cook|publisher=Texas State Cemetery|access-date=August 25, 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.legalethicstexas.com/Ethics-Resources/Rules/Texas-Lawyer-s-Creed/About-Justice-Eugene-Cook,-Principal-Architect-of-|title=About Justice Eugene Cook, Principal Architect of the Creed|publisher=Texas Center for Legal Ethics|access-date=August 25, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2011articles/Nov2011/1104FreedomsAward.php|title=UH Education Professor, UH Alumnae to Be Honored By Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge|first=Laura|last=Tolley|publisher=University of Houston|date=November 4, 2011}} He married Sondra Attaway in 1968, and they had two children. Following his admission to the bar, he joined the firm of Butler and Binion, of which he became a partner from 1973 until he left in 1985 to start his own firm, Cook, Davis & McFall.

Judicial service

On August 19, 1988, Governor Bill Clements appointed Cook to a seat on the Texas Supreme Court.Texas Bar Journal (1991), Vol. 54, p. 1087. He was sworn in on September 1, 1988, and was elected to a full term on the Court in November.

While serving on the court, Cook chaired the Committee on Professionalism, which drafted The Texas Lawyer's Creed – A Mandate for Professionalism, a code of professionalism for the state, of which Cook "was the principal architect". Cook was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Houston Law Center in 1990, and received an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1992. He also served as the president of the Houston Bar Association from 1989 to 1990, and was awarded the Most Outstanding Attorney award from the State Bar of Texas in 1989. In 1992, he received the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Award for exemplary service to the legal profession from the American Inns of Court.{{cite web|url=https://cemetery.tspb.texas.gov/pub/user_form.asp?pers_id=3064|title=Eugene Augustus Cook|work=Texas State Cemetery|date=2020-09-02}}

Post-judicial service

Cook ran for reelection to the court in 1992, but was defeated by Rose Spector, who became the first woman elected to the court.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19921105&id=_kdSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eTYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=813,5014623&hl=en|title=San Antonio woman wins seat|newspaper=The Victoria Advocate|date=November 5, 1992}} Cook thereafter returned to Houston to serve as senior partner and head of the appellate group at Bracewell & Giuliani. Cook retired from that position in 2002. On November 12, 2011, Cook was honored by the Freedoms Foundation for his "outstanding work in promoting good citizenship principles".

Electoral history

{{Election box begin no change | title=1988 General Election: Supreme Court of Texas, Place 3{{cite book|url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162512/m1/374/|title=Texas Almanac, 1990-1991|work=The Dallas Morning News|year=1989}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Eugene Cook

|votes = 2,537,129

|percentage = 51.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Karl Bayer

|votes = 2,368,634

|percentage = 48.3

}}

{{Election box begin no change | title=1992 General Election: Supreme Court of Texas, Place 3{{cite web|url=https://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist5_state.htm|title=1992 General Election|work=Office of the Secretary of State of Texas|date=1992-11-03}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Rose Spector

|votes = 2,948,377

|percentage = 52.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Eugene Cook

|votes = 2,697,017

|percentage = 47.8

}}