August 17, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Hanging up his robe!
After 24 years serving as DeKalb County’s General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge, Bratten Hale Cook, II will be leaving office when his term ends August 31.
“The voters of DeKalb County have honored me three different times with election as your judge, and this has been the biggest honor of my career,” said Judge Cook in an interview with WJLE.
A retirement reception honoring Judge Cook will be held on Friday, August 19 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the DeKalb County Community Complex, 712 South Congress Boulevard, Smithville and all family, friends, and supporters are invited to celebrate Judge Cook’s journey of 24 years as General Sessions/Juvenile Court Judge of DeKalb County.
Although he will be stepping down from the bench, Judge Cook stresses that he is not retiring as an attorney.
“I am still going to practice law. I love working and I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t working. I hope I can slow down some since I won’t be on the bench several days a week,” said Judge Cook.
Judge Cook was elected to his first eight-year term in 1998 and re-elected in 2006 and 2014. He made his decision not to seek a fourth term in 2020, but only shared it with a select few.
Cook has practiced law for 42 years but becoming a lawyer was not a career path he had chosen until he was already in college.
“Actually, it didn’t hit me until probably my second year at MTSU when I had a lot of liberal arts courses such as history, psychology, sociology, and various English and literature courses. I enjoy reading and I found out if you want to be a lawyer you had better enjoy reading. One thing led to another, and I thought I would take the LSAT which is the Law School Admissions Test. I scored pretty well on it and from there I applied to Memphis and UT and got accepted at both, but I wanted to go to UT instead of Memphis,” Judge Cook said.
After becoming an attorney in 1980, Cook rose through the ranks to become one of the leading lawyers in town. For sixteen years he served as attorney and prosecutor for the City of Smithville and only gave it up when he became judge because he couldn’t hold both positions.
During his time on the bench, Judge Cook started several programs through the court system to better the lives of people who came before him, but the one he is most proud of is the Recovery Court, which is a rehabilitation program for drug offenders as an alternative to incarceration.
“I am extremely proud of our Adult Recovery Court, which we implemented in 2005. It is the most important program that I started as judge. It used to be called Drug Court. We still perform the same function; the State just changed the name. I have asked a hundred times over the years “do you want to pay $20,000 a year to house each person in the DeKalb County Jail, or do you want to pay about $5,000 a year to treat them so they can become clean and sober and responsible citizens?” It’s a no brainer. The Sheriff and members of his staff have always been involved in this program as well as the Assistant Public Defender and the Assistant District Attorney General. I have also been blessed with having other good people working with me in the Recovery Court Program. Right now we have Kate Arnold who is our Coordinator, and she is doing a fabulous job along with Case Managers Rhonda Tiefenauer and Jammie Hood. This program has been a tremendous success. We have seen so many people get clean and sober, get their children back, get a job, and get their own place to live. It’s totally transformed the lives of many people, as well as their family members and friends. I believe when you change one person’s life you’re really not just changing that one, but it goes out exponentially to their spouse, children, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and friends. It’s so rewarding, and I thank the Lord that I have had this opportunity,” said Judge Cook.
Over the years Judge Cook has received his share of honors but he said it’s his wife Judy and secretary Tish Summers who deserve most of the credit for the recognition.
“I have been blessed with having a wife who has always supported me. When I first ran for the judgeship Judy got out and campaigned more than I did, and she walked about every road in DeKalb County, knocked on thousands of doors and has always been behind me in my efforts to create these different programs.
As president of the local bar association, Judge Cook said he looks forward to continuing working with his fellow attorneys as he carries on his law practice after stepping down from the bench.
Judge Cook said he believes his successor; Brandon Cox will carry on the programs he started and would be willing to fill in for Judge Cox from time to time if the need should arise.
“I hope I can be of some help to Judge Cox and show him what I have done and what the job entails. I have been blessed to have former General Sessions and Juvenile Judge Vester Parsley as well as other judges from surrounding counties fill in for me when I have had conflicts, sickness, or vacation and I would love to do the same for Judge Cox”.
Asked if he had ever during his career contemplated seeking higher office, Judge Cook was quick to respond “no” but he added that his belief is everyone has a purpose in life.
“When I first made the decision to run for judge in 1998 I did a lot of thinking, but I did a whole lot more praying. I believe I was meant to do what I have done in my life. I have been so blessed far above what I deserve in my life with the opportunities I have been given and although I have been honored many times in my 42-year career with different awards, nothing quite equals the people of your home county selecting you to be a public official. They not only did it once or twice, but three times for me and I have enjoyed almost every minute of it”.