Robert Elbert Cooper Sr. (October 14, 1920 – July 10, 2016) was an American judge. He was a justice of the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of Tennessee. The Supreme Court's three buildings are seated in Nashville, Knoxville, and Jackson, Tennessee. The Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, and four justice ...

from 1974 until his retirement in 1990. Cooper was born in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, and attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

(1946) and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

(1949). He was the chairman of the Tennessee Judicial Council and served on the Sixth Judicial Circuit (1953–1960) and

Tennessee Court of Appeals The Tennessee Court of Appeals (in case citation, Tenn. Ct. App.) was created in 1925 by the Tennessee General Assembly as an intermediate appellate court to hear appeals in civil cases from the Tennessee state trial courts. Appeals of judgments ...

(1960–1974). Robert E. Cooper Sr. died on July 10, 2016, at his home on

Signal Mountain, Tennessee Signal Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The town is a suburb of Chattanooga and is located on Walden Ridge. "Signal Mountain" is used as a colloquial name for the part of Walden Ridge close to the town. The town po ...

, following a brief illness.Obituary, "Robert Elbert Cooper," Chattanoogan.com, Chattanooga, TN., published Monday, July 11th, 2016

/ref> His son, Robert E. Cooper Jr., is the former Attorney General of Tennessee, serving from 2006 until 2014.

References

1920 births 2016 deaths Lawyers from Chattanooga, Tennessee University of North Carolina alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court People from Signal Mountain, Tennessee 20th-century Tennessee state court judges {{Tennessee-state-judge-stub