{"county":"shelby","description":"","district":"Memphis","districtgroup":"municipality","id":188,"key":"memphis_municipal_judge_div_2","lastchangeby":null,"name":"Varonica R. Cooper","next_election":"2019-11-08","notes":"198","officegroup":"memphis_municipal_court","partisan":0,"party":"","qualities":"- Municipal-court judge: hears violations of city ordinances (traffic, code, animal-control, etc.) and, in some Tennessee cities, limited civil and small-claims jurisdiction by charter or interlocal agreement.\n- Judicial temperament: the willingness to listen, deliberate, and apply the law dispassionately to people whose lives are deeply affected by the outcome.\n- Impartiality and ethics under the Tennessee Rules of Judicial Conduct, including disqualification when conflicts arise.\n- Working knowledge of the substantive and procedural law applied in the assigned court (cited per court below) and the published precedent that controls.\n- Docket management \u2014 moving cases efficiently while honoring due process and the time pressures that fall on litigants and witnesses.\n- Clear written and oral explanation of rulings, so the parties and the public can follow the reasoning.","quantity":1,"source":null,"state":"TN","term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01","term_years":8,"terms":[{"current":1,"description":"","electiondate":"2022-08-04","name":"Varonica R. Cooper","person":{"biography":"Previous Employment\n\nAttorney, Cooper Law Firm, LLC, (1998-2022)\n\nAdjunct Professor, Baruch College, (2000-2001)\n\nAdjunct Professor, Borough Manhattan Community College, (1999-2001)\n\nEducation \n\nMorris Brown College, 1994\n\nVillanova University Law School, 1997\n\nMembership(s) \n\nNational Bar Association \n\nNational Bar Association-Ben F. Jones  \n\nNational Association of Women Judges\n\nCommunity Involvement\n\nWishes and Hopes for Others, Inc. (Co-Founder)\n\n","firstname":"Varonica","lastname":"Cooper","middlename":"R.","token":"IpqSKXsLUE"},"term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"}],"title":"Memphis Municipal Judge Div 2","type":"judicial","url":null,"whenchanged":"2026-04-25 19:49:19"}