Cooper returned to Australia and began to practise as a barrister at Brisbane in June 1874. He became a crown prosecutor in January 1879 and entered the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as member for Bowen. On 31 December 1880 he joined the first Thomas McIlwraith ministry as Attorney-General.[2] He resigned this position on 6 January 1883 when he was appointed as a supreme court judge for the northern district of Queensland. His travelling expenses caused some quarrels. In 1895 he became senior puisne judge at Brisbane, and on 21 October 1903 chief justice. There was animosity between the Labor government and the judges, playing out through a series of cases challenging government actions and legislation.[3][4][5][6] The parliament undermined his security of tenure by passing the Judges Retirement Act 1921 (Qld),[7] the effect of which was that immediately upon proclamation three out of six judges, Cooper and Justices Real and Chubb were compulsorily retired, which permitted the government to appoint new judges, including Thomas McCawley as the new Chief Justice.[6][8][9] Cooper died on 30 August 1923.[1]
Legacy
In 1873, Cooper married Alice Frener, daughter of James Cooper who died in 1900 leaving a son and two daughters.
He was knighted 1904 and was created a KCMG in 1908.
Cooper had only a short career in parliament but made himself a reputation as a polished speaker. As a judge he was always seeking the essentials of a case and generally adopted a common attitude on legal questions. His summings up were usually brief and to the point. In criminal cases he could be severe though just. In his conduct of the court, though always courteous, he insisted that the dignity of the bench must be upheld, and he was quick to restrain anything in the nature of contempt of court.
^McGarvieThe Foundations of Judicial Independence in a Modern Democracy (1991) 1 Journal of Judicial Administration 3.
^McPherson, BH (1989). The Supreme Court of Queensland 1859-1960. Butterworths. pp. 287–291 & 299–305. ISBN0409494445.
^"SOCIETY COLUMN". The Telegraph. No. 9, 650. Queensland, Australia. 24 October 1903. p. 4. Retrieved 15 April 2023 – via National Library of Australia.