Hon. Bruce R Cohen

Judge

Maricopa County Superior Court

BRUCE R. COHEN was appointed as a Superior Court Judge to the Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona in May, 2005. He retired from the Bench on January 1, 2025. During his tenure, he served on a family court assignment for ten years, four of which as Associate Presiding Family Court Judge (2007-2011) and four of which were as Presiding Judge (2019-2023). He also served on a criminal calendar assignment from 2011-2015, two years of which he was the managing judge of the Post-Conviction Relief Unit, three years assigned to the Juvenile Court (2015-2018) and one year on a Civil Court calendar from 2018-2019. His final two years on the bench were on a criminal court assignment, during which Judge Cohen was invited by the Department of Justice to participate in a three-day national judiciary symposium in Washington, D.C. on criminal justice reform. In the mid to late 1970s, before entering the legal profession, Judge Cohen worked in the concert industry. He produced shows with many top acts, including Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, Bob Seger, Journey, Yes, Janis Ian, Melissa Manchester, Billy Joel, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yvonne Elliman, Black Sabbath (with Ozzy), The Beach Boys, Herbie Mann, Stanley Clarke, Kenny Loggins, Dicky Betts of the Allman Brothers, Harry Chapin, Elvis Costello, George Carlin, Cheech and Chong, Bob Hope, and the Rolling Stones (featuring Linda Ronstadt). He helped produce a benefit concert held at the University of Arizona Football Stadium in 1977 headlined by Fleetwood Mac and the Marshall Tucker Band, which was attended by 67,000 people and which raised over $400,000 for the American Heart Association, from whom he was given their 1977 Outstanding Service Award. After graduating from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in Psychology in 1978, Judge Cohen attended law school and earned his J.D. at Arizona State University (now known as “Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law”). While in law school, he appeared on two game shows—“High Rollers” (1979), hosted by Alex Trebek and “Match Game” (1980), hosted by Gene Rayburn. After having graduated from law school, Judge Cohen remained actively engaged with the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. In 2001 and again in 2021 and 2022, he served as an adjunct family law professor and has been a guest speaker on many other occasions. He and his wife sponsored an annual scholarship project for a number of years through 2012 for first year law students on the issue of professionalism. In the summer of 2010, he helped develop a mentor program for 1L law students to be paired with judicial officers. Prior to his appointment to the Bench, Judge Cohen was in private practice for 24 years. He was a certified specialist in Family Law and served on the Family Law Board of Legal Specialization for the State Bar of Arizona, as well as the Family Law Executive Council for the State Bar of Arizona. He was a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and was named annually to the Martindale Hubbell Preeminent Lawyers in America. In 1990, he was named Volunteer Lawyer of the Year by the Maricopa County Bar Association. He is also past president of the Arizona Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (1992) and served as a member of the AzAFCC Board through January, 2011. Judge Cohen chaired 2010-11 AzAFCC Summit Project, which focused on developing communication skills for parents in custody litigation. Judge Cohen co-authored and advocated legislation in the 1990s, which was enacted in Arizona: (a) parent information programs for parents addressing custody issues; (b) streamlining processes for adoption of special needs children. After four years of effort, he helped secure the passage of legislation in Arizona in 2021 that allowed sexual assault survivors who became impregnated to seek termination of parental rights of their assailants. In 2013, Judge Cohen worked in collaboration with others to return to Arizona the “Anytown” program, which brings together high-school aged children for a weeklong camp focused on stamping out bias, prejudice and bigotry and celebrating diversity. He served as a co-director for the 2014 and 2016 camps. Judge Cohen has served on numerous committees, boards and task forces, including: Arizona Supreme Court Child Support Guidelines Committee for four quadrennial reviews, commencing in 1996, (Chairperson for the 2008-2010 Review and again as a member for the 2020-21 review); Arizona Supreme Court Family Law Rules Review Committee and on the Admission on Motion Task Force; Arizona Supreme Court’s Standing Committee on the Impact of Domestic Violence and the Courts (2019-2023), the Family Court Improvement Committee, Commission on Access to Justice; Judicial Executive Council member for the Maricopa County Superior Court (2014-15 and 2019-2023); Chairperson of the Arizona State Bar Professionalism Advisory Council; Arizona Supreme Court committee on development of spousal maintenance guidelines (2022-23); and Maricopa County Superior Court Peer Support Program (founding member). In May, 2023, he was an invited to be part of the AFCC International Symposium of Family Law Judges, attended by judges from across the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Israel. Commencing in 2019, Judge Cohen has worked in concert with the National Conference for State Courts to develop the Families In Transition Program (“FIT”). With funding from the State Justice Initiative, FIT is a computer-based interactive program designed for early intervention in cases where there is risk of the family becoming engaged in high-conflict parenting. The program has been independently studied by Arizona State University and was found to be highly effective in reducing parental conflict in custody cases. It is now used in Arizona and soon shall be available for courts throughout the United States. He also served as the national co-chair for the Family Law Workgroup of the National Judicial Task Force on Mental Health and the Courts. This group developed an “Understanding Series” regarding mental health issues in family court proceedings and is published on the website of the National Conference of State Courts. During his 18 years on the Bench, he received a number of awards, including: Arizona Family Support Council’s 2010 Judicial Officer of the Year; 2011 AzAFCC Outstanding Service Award, 2011 “Improving Public Trust and Confidence in the Arizona Court System” award from the Arizona Supreme Court; 2013 Maricopa County Superior Court Pendleton Gaines Collegiality Award; nominee for the US Justice Department 2014 National Crime Victims’ Service Award; “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the State Bar of Arizona- Family Law Section in 2016; and the Phoenix Chapter of the American Board of Trial Attorneys 2019 “Judge of the Year.” For his work on judicial education, he was a co-recipient of the 2021 Excellence in Judicial Education Award from the Arizona Judicial College, was awarded the nationally prestigious 2022 “Irwin Cantor Innovative Program Award” from the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and the “2022 Promoting Judicial Branch Excellence Award” from the Arizona Supreme Court. He was recently the recipient of the 2023 “Justice Michael D. Ryan Award for Judicial Excellence” from the Public Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Arizona and the 2023 “Making a Difference Award” from the Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the State Bar of Ariz