FROM: Richard W. Long Chief Counsel
SUBJECT: Appointment of New Member to the Judicial Conduct Board
HARRISBURG, PA — The Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Scott B. Cooper, Esquire, to the twelve-member Board. Governor Tom Wolf appointed Mr. Cooper to serve as a lawyer member of the Board. His four-year term commenced July 30, 2021.
The Judicial Conduct Board is an independent body of Pennsylvania citizens that comprises three judges, three attorneys, and six non-lawyer electors. Half of the Board members are appointed by the Governor and half by the Supreme Court. The Board’s members serve four-year terms, without pay, and no more than half of its appointed members may be from the same political party.
Mr. Cooper, of Dauphin County, is a partner at Schmidt Kramer P.C., a Harrisburg-based personal injury law firm where he specializes in personal injury law with an emphasis on motor vehicle accident and insurance cases. He is a member and past-president of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PAJ), a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He currently serves as president-elect of the Dauphin County Bar Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Joe Allegrini Children’s Hero Fund.
Mr. Cooper serves on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Civil Procedure Rules Committee and previously served on the Supreme Court’s Appellate Rules Committee. He served as co-chair for then Governor-Elect Tom Wolf’s transition team committee for the Department of the Commonwealth/State and has been appointed as a Hearing Officer with the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Cooper is a frequent lecturer and author. He is also active in the community through his involvement with the Harrisburg Jewish Community Center and as an Adjunct Professor at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, Harrisburg.
Mr. Cooper holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University at Albany, Albany, New York. He earned his Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware. Mr. Cooper was appointed to succeed Thomas J. Elliott, Esquire, of Montgomery County. Mr. Elliott’s term expired July 16, 2021.
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Created by constitutional amendment in 1993, the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania is an independent board within the judicial branch of the Commonwealth’s government responsible for reviewing, investigating, and, where warranted, prosecuting complaints of judicial misconduct. If the Board, by majority vote, decides that there is probable cause to believe that a judge engaged in misconduct, the Board may file a complaint in the Court of Judicial Discipline where the Board must prove the charges against the judge by clear and convincing evidence. The Court of Judicial Discipline decides if the Board has sustained its burden of proof and also decides the sanction to be imposed upon the judge for any proven misconduct.
For further information about the Judicial Conduct Board, please visit the Board’s Website at www.judicialconductboardofpa.org.
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