Robert Cochran Admonished Retired

Robert Cochran, a Del Norte County Superior Court judge, was publicly admonished by the California Commission on Judicial Performance over comments he made presiding over a 2023 case in which a woman accused her partner — the father of one of her children — of repeatedly beating her and threatening to kill her. At a May 2023 hearing, Cochran told the woman, "if this is true what you're telling me, why [are you] still in that home with this person a year later," and added, "You got a problem. To stay in a relationship like that under these circumstances… you've got a daughter who you're setting a bad, bad example for." Separately, the Commission found Cochran told the accused abuser that the victim was "manipulating" him and that he had "played into her trap." Cochran acknowledged the comments were "unartful" but said they were well-intentioned, meant to warn the victim about modeling unhealthy relationships for her children. The Commission concluded the remarks reflected outdated stereotypes about domestic violence victims, appeared to blame the victim for the abuse she suffered, and showed "bias, embroilment, impatience, and discourtesy." Cochran had already retired after a single six-year term by the time the admonishment was issued.