SIUE alum elected to 20th Judicial Circuit
Emily Siemer, Alestle News Reporter
Issue date: 3/22/07 Section: News
Voters in the 20th Judicial Circuit in Illinois have chosen an SIUE alumnus to serve them in the courts.
On March 2, Michael Cook was sworn in as an associate judge. Cook will primarily be hearing traffic, DUI and misdemeanor cases when he takes his post later this month.
"I always thought public service was important," Cook said of his election to the judgeship. "There are a lot of people who don't get a fair shake."
Elected Feb. 15, Cook had previously worked as a public defender in St. Clair County, and has since been in private practice with the Belleville firm - Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer & Shevlin.
Being on the other side of the bench will be a refreshing change, Cook said.
"There's more to the law than it having to be a competition all the time," he said.
Before his career began, Cook attended the University of Tulsa College of Law after graduating from SIUE in 1994.
An anthropology major, Cook spoke of how the university had prepared him for life after graduation.
"The anthropology program did a lot of political anthropology … all that has helped me deal with (people). Their focus on … legal anthropology helped me have a better understanding of the more complex issues I found in law school."
Cook said he remembers how professors Dallas Browne and Charlotte Frisbie, among others, took time to help him develop learning strategies that were priceless in law school.
"(They) taught me how to study, how to think critically and how to think about the subject matter, and it helped me out in all matters of my education," Cook said. "(The anthropology department) left me with a great feeling about SIUE. It is an asset to the area."
On March 2, Michael Cook was sworn in as an associate judge. Cook will primarily be hearing traffic, DUI and misdemeanor cases when he takes his post later this month.
"I always thought public service was important," Cook said of his election to the judgeship. "There are a lot of people who don't get a fair shake."
Elected Feb. 15, Cook had previously worked as a public defender in St. Clair County, and has since been in private practice with the Belleville firm - Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer & Shevlin.
Being on the other side of the bench will be a refreshing change, Cook said.
"There's more to the law than it having to be a competition all the time," he said.
Before his career began, Cook attended the University of Tulsa College of Law after graduating from SIUE in 1994.
An anthropology major, Cook spoke of how the university had prepared him for life after graduation.
"The anthropology program did a lot of political anthropology … all that has helped me deal with (people). Their focus on … legal anthropology helped me have a better understanding of the more complex issues I found in law school."
Cook said he remembers how professors Dallas Browne and Charlotte Frisbie, among others, took time to help him develop learning strategies that were priceless in law school.
"(They) taught me how to study, how to think critically and how to think about the subject matter, and it helped me out in all matters of my education," Cook said. "(The anthropology department) left me with a great feeling about SIUE. It is an asset to the area."
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