Deborah Louise Cook
How Judge Cook decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Applies a categorical, elements-focused approach to sentencing-enhancement questions (ACCA/Guidelines 'crime of violence'), matching a state offense's statutory elements against the generic federal definition rather than the facts of the underlying conduct, and treats an unraised distinction as forfeited rather than reaching it sua sponte.
“If the statute requires proving that someone used, attempted, or threatened to use physical force against another, it satisfies the elements clause even if the statute does not match the elements clause word for word.”
Willing to overturn the circuit's own stale precedent en banc when a fresh textual analysis demands it, rather than preserving institutional inertia -- here reversing a categorical zero-privacy rule for booking photos under FOIA Exemption 7(C).
“We overrule Free Press I, reverse the grant of summary judgment, and remand to the district court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
In administrative and agency-enforcement remedies, insists remedies be tailored to the violation rather than punitive or symbolic, closely policing NLRB remedial orders for First Amendment / compelled-speech overreach.
“Remedies may not be used as an instrument of punishment.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“We overrule Free Press I, reverse the grant of summary judgment, and remand to the district court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“We GRANT the petition for review in part, GRANT the cross-application for enforcement in part, and ENFORCE the Board's order as modified by this opinion.”
“AFFIRM the district court's dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction, and DISMISS defendant's cross-appeal as moot.”
“The Noerr-Pennington doctrine insulates Insight from liability for its activities here, we reverse the district court's decision.”
“We reverse the district court's decision and remand for the district court to determine whether the Supreme Court's decision in Jones v. United States ... established a new AEDPA limitations period.”
“For the following reasons, we affirm the BIA and deny the petition.”
“Because the district court reasonably sentenced Williams, we affirm.”
“Because Banks fails to distinguish Donald Graham, we decline to categorically prohibit the consideration of juvenile-age offenses ... Accordingly, we AFFIRM.”
“Because the record demonstrates that the officers did not act objectively unreasonably, we REVERSE.”
Put Judge Cook's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Cook actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Cook's own signed orders and cites them.