Johnnie Cochran was born October 2, 1937 in Shreveport, Louisana to Johnnie L. Cochran and Hattie Cochran. His father, Johnnie Sr., was an insurance salesman at Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, while his mother, Hattie, sold Avon Products. Cochran attended public schools and excelled in his studies.

He graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1955 and was at the top of his class before enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics in 1959 and earned a doctorate in law in 1962 from Loyola Law School.

Legal career and achievements

In 1963 Cochran passed the bar and received his first case in 1964 which was a celebrity and within two years he had gone into private practice and then opened his own business which was called Cochran, Atkins & Evans in Los Angeles. By the late 1970s, Cochran had already built a reputation within the black community.

He endured high-profile police brutality cases and defended celebrity clients. Cochran has defended celebrities such as Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson, Snoop Dogg, Todd Bridges and so many others not mentioned. He established himself as a sought-after lawyer and was able to handle cases of police brutality that were brought to him.

Johnnie Cochran was inspired by Thurgood Marshal and it led him to make the decision to dedicate his life to the practice of law because he had a passion for defending the powerless and oppressed. For Cochran, his career was a calling he had to fulfill. He saw it as an opportunity to fight for what was right, to challenge the wrongs, and to fight for what he felt was wrong.

As a lawyer, Cochran also had his career ups and downs; There were times when he had major setbacks, but would not give in and refuse to be discouraged from doing what he felt was right, because he truly believed in himself that he could make a difference in the world by practicing law.

The case that brought him to the international limelight and made him one of the most highly regarded trial attorneys in the United States was that of former American football player, OJ Simpson who was charged of a double homicide.

Cochran established the Johnnie L Cochran Fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles for African-American men and he also served as president of the Manhattan Upper Empowerment Zone, whose primary goal was to revitalize economically disadvantaged communities. .

Woman, children

Johnnie Cochran has been married twice. He first married Barbara Berry Cochran in 1960. His marriage to elementary school teacher Barbara ended in 1977 and he remarried Sylvia Dale. The marriage lasted from 1985 to 2005. His first marriage had two daughters – Tiffany and Melodie – while he had a son, Jonathan, by his former girlfriend, Patty Sikora.

History of domestic violence, double life

Johnnie Cochran was a man who led a double life. He was accused by his first wife, Barbara, of having an affair with his longtime mistress, Patty Sikora. She wrote in her book Life After Johnnie Cochran which was published in 1995 that she was beaten and assaulted by the lawyer several times while they were still together as a couple.

She described Cochran as deceptive, manipulative, controlling and abusive. She also said that most of the time the lawyer got angry and beat her every time she told him about her affair with Patty. These accusations of Barbara became very public during the OJ Simpsons murder trial. She also claimed that Cochran and her father tried to force her to deny allegations of abuse she had made in the past.

The death of Johnnie Cochran

In December 2003, Johnnie Cochran was diagnosed with a brain tumor and he decided to have surgery to remove it, which he did in April 2004. During his healing process, he moved away from media for a while. Sadly, on March 29, 2005, Johnnie Cochran passed away at his home in Los Angeles.

There was a public viewing of his casket and it took place on April 4 at the Angelus Funeral Home and the following day (April 5) at the Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles. They held a memorial service at the West Angeles Church of God on April 6, 2005, and he was buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.

On January 24, 2006, the following year after Cochran’s death, Los Angeles Unified School District officials approved the renaming of “Mount Vernon Middle School,” where he had previously attended after him. The new approved name was Johnnie L Cochran Jr. Middle School. In 2007, the “Johnnie L Cochran Jr. Center for Brain Tumors” was launched with Keith Black, the neurosurgeon who treated Cochran heading the research center.