Barry Cohen will finally take off his black robe on Thursday morning to end a 25-year-long career as a Palm Beach County judge. He also has a four-decade-plus legal career. After presided over more than 1000 jury trials, Cohen, a 66-year old native New Yorker, was honored by local lawyers as a “champion of justice”. Cohen is known for his great knowledge of the law, impartiality and cool demeanor, rather than being a jurist who dealt with high-profile cases. Cohen said that he felt he had “hit a wall” six months ago as his seat was up for reelection. He’ll divide his time between Wellington and the Vermont home he and Bonnie purchased in Vermont. He said, “I need to live life without the title judge, without a gown and just be an ordinary citizen.” He spoke this in his chambers. The office is filled with Yankees memorabilia including a cardboard cut-out of Babe Ruth. Cohen claims he doesn’t regret his job, which is defined by dockets and rulings, verdicts, scores, home runs and wins rather than score cards, home runs and wins. There have been two periods when Cohen was publicly shamed for his decisions, and sometimes made stinging remarks in courtroom. Cohen was repeatedly attacked by Irv Slosberg (D-Boca Raton) for being too soft with DUI offenders in cases that were not considered a misdemeanor. While accusing Cohen for putting a few drunk drivers behind bars, the politician said that Cohen was too soft on DUI offenders in non-jury misdemeanor cases. Slosberg, a long-standing advocate for stronger traffic laws, continues to support the accusations. He said good bye to Slosberg, who was elected in 1990 without opposition and was re-elected four more times without attracting a challenger. Slosberg said to the Sun Sentinel that while he might be a great judge in many other areas, when it comes down to road safety, Slosberg keeps our roads less safer. Cohen said he would not change any of his DUI rulings. He explained that he couldn’t choose but to give acquittals in some cases, as the state law didn’t define “impaired”. Cohen was given a public reprimand by the Florida Supreme Court on April 29, 2014. This was the darkest day of Cohen’s tenure. Cohen was punished for violating five sections of the state code for conduct for judges. Cohen apologized for making inappropriate remarks. The whole ordeal started in 2012, when Peter Antonacci, then interim Palm Beach County state attorney asked Cohen to cease presidering over criminal cases due to bias against prosecutors. Cohen refused. Cohen refused. However, the state Judicial Qualifications Commission filed formal charges against Cohen later in the year for using his position to “bully pulpit” as well as undermining the function of a judge “as neutral and detached magistrate”. The judge refused to defend the allegations and said that he did not intend to appear impartial by criticizing the State Attorney’s Office’s handling of multiple criminal cases. Cohen also claimed racial profiling and bias in the justice process. Cohen attacked prosecutors during a battery trial and said that they “have no concern about a miscarriage in justice.” The Judicial Qualifications Commission recommended a reprimand. It noted that “despite Judge Cohen’s statements, his rulings & decisions were not adversely affected.” Cohen, humbled, said that he would watch Cohen’s words in court, even if he didn’t want to. This was quite different from the results of surveys conducted by members of Palm Beach County Bar Association. Cohen was always near the top in all categories, including knowledge and application. Judge Peter Evans called Cohen “moral conscience” of the court and praised Cohen’s ability to communicate the reasons behind his decisions. Evans spoke highly of Cohen, saying that he “understood and respected the truly amazing power we have as judges” and understood the community’s responsibility. A caravan of 20 judges and attorneys from the area accompanied Cohen to Tallahassee in solidarity. In response to the accusations against Cohen, the Palm Beach Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers created the Barry M. Cohen Champion of Justice Award. This annual award recognizes those who have shown courage and integrity in pursuing justice and fairness in criminal legal practice. Cohen, who began his career as a prosecutor after graduating from the University of Miami’s law school in 1974, said that it was “clearly the most satisfying moment of all my career.” He was made an assistant public defense in 1977. Cohen lost his 1980 attempt to run for the office of public defender. He was a private practitioner who concentrated on criminal defense cases until 1990, when he was elected to the bench. Scott Berry, the immediate past president, stated that the award’s nameake has earned the reputation for being “incredibly fair.” Berry stated that no matter how you win or lose, you will feel that you received a fair deal. Both sides will miss him. The father of two adult children, he loved spending time with his wife and “my best friend,” Arlo, and his rescue dogs Jeter and Arlo, even when he was away from his courthouse family, which included judges and lawyers. Jeter is named after Derek Jeter, while Arlo is in tribute to Arlo Guthrie. Cohen is a traditionalist, refusing to use computers. However, he never misses a Yankee match on TV and records those that he can’t watch live. Cohen doesn’t have anything against men calling strikes and balls, but he believes judges should be more than umpires in the area the criminal justice system. Cohen stated that judges should be allowed to address issues when appropriate. “Judges should be available to educate the public — people who win and lose should understand the factors that I use in making a decision.”

Source: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-palm-judge-barry-cohen-retiring-20160626-story.html