Roy Cooper

Roy Cooper

Roy Asberry Cooper III is an American politician and attorney. He has served as the 75th Governor of North Carolina since January 1, 2017. He had previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate. Cooper argued his first case before the United States Supreme Court, J. D. J. Fox v North Carolina, in 2011.

About Roy Cooper in brief

Summary Roy CooperRoy Asberry Cooper III is an American politician and attorney. He has served as the 75th Governor of North Carolina since January 1, 2017. He had previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate. He defeated Republican incumbent Pat McCrory for the governorship in a close race in the 2016 election. The Republican-dominated legislature passed bills in a special session before he took office to reduce the power of the governor’s office. Cooper was mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for North Carolina governor in 2008, but he decided to run for re-election as Attorney General instead. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2011 against North Carolina in a case related to Miranda rights in juvenile cases. The court ruled 5–4 against North Carolina in D.C. v. Fox, citing almost 230 cases that were tainted by the actions of officials at the State Bureau of Investigation forensic lab. Cooper argued his first case before the United States Supreme Court, J. D. J. Fox v. North Carolina, in 2011. He won reelection in 2020 and is a member of the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of North Cleveland. He is married and has two children. He was born on June 13, 1957 in Nashville, North Carolina. His mother was a teacher and his father was a lawyer. He attended public school and worked on his parents’ tobacco farm during summer.

He graduated from Northern Nash Senior High School in 1975. He received the Morehead Scholarship at the University of North North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his undergraduate studies. He also earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1982. Cooper was elected North Carolina Attorney General in November 2000 and took office on January 6, 2001; he was re-elected for a second four-year term in 2004. He continued to practice law as the managing partner of the law firm Fields & Cooper in Rocky Mount and Nashville. In 2011, Cooper was unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election. In the November 2012 elections, Cooper received 2,828,941 votes. His political consultant announced in 2011 that Cooper would seek a fourth term in 2012. In 2012 politicians suggested him as a Possible candidate for Governor ofNorth Carolina after incumbent Governor Bev Perdue announced her retirement, but Cooper declined to run. Cooper’s office assumed responsibility for the Duke lacrosse case in January 2007, when Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong asked to be recused from dealing with the case. In April 2007, Cooper dismissed the case against the Duke Lacrosse team players, declaring them innocent and victims of a “tragic rush to accuse” The decision won him bipartisan praise.