The Fordham Law community is saddened by the death of Professor George Cochran, who taught constitutional law at Fordham every summer for 19 years.
Before his academic career, Cochran clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stanley Reed and for Chief Justice Earl Warren. He taught constitutional law, Supreme Court practice, and federal jurisdiction and procedure at the University of Mississippi School of Law for more than 40 years.
He served as director of the Center on Law and Poverty at Duke University, an attorney with Steptoe and Johnson in Washington, D.C., and an attorney for the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy. He conducted research on constitutional law and federal jurisdiction, and frequently published and lectured on civil rights. He also served on the boards of directors of the Mississippi Innocence Project and the New Orleans Innocence Project. In 2015, the Mississippi Innocence Project was renamed the George C. Cochran Innocence Project for Cochran’s substantial contributions to the organization, which provides legal representation to Mississippi state prisoners who have meritorious claims of wrongful conviction.
“It was always a pleasure and a sure sign of summer when George took up residence at Fordham each year,” said Fordham Law Dean Matthew Diller. “We were fortunate to have this special connection to George and we will miss him.”
Visitation for George Cochran will be Thursday, June 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Waller Funeral Home, 419 Hwy 6 West, Oxford, Mississippi 38655. The funeral service will be Friday, June 23, at 11 a.m. at Waller Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Avenue, Oxford, MS, designated for the George C. Cochran Scholarship in Law Endowment or to the George Cochran Innocence Project.