and criminal litigation seems to suggest his company does not represent clients in criminal trials, despite the fact that Cooley's legal career has been in criminal prosecution. Representation of David Daleiden and Center for Medical Progress In 2017, Cooley began to defend David Daleiden, an anti-abortion activist and founder of the Center for Medical Progress, after Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, were indicted on 15 charges for surreptitiously recording several Planned Parenthood executives without their permission and claiming Planned Parenthood was illegally selling body parts from fetuses. As part of the National Abortion Federation's lawsuit against Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress, Federal Judge William Orrick III and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction forbidding Daleiden and CMP from publishing any more videos they had illegally obtained at private professional meetings. However, new videos then appeared on the website of Daleiden's attorney, former Los Angeles County District Attorney, Steve Cooley. Judge Orrick ordered Daleiden, and his attorneys, Cooley and Brentford J. Ferreira to appear at a June 14 hearing to consider contempt sanctions. On July 11, 2017, Judge Orrick found attorneys Cooley and Ferreira in contempt of court saying, "With respect to the criminal defense counsel, they do not get to decide whether they can violate the preliminary injunction". On July 17, Judge Orrick found Daleiden in contempt, as well as his lawyers and the Center for Medical Progress itself. Judge Orrick ordered Daleiden to turn over video footage and other materials related to his 2016 preliminary injunction. On August 31, Judge Orrick found Daleiden and his attorneys, Steve Cooley and Ferreira, liable for the payment of $195,359 to compensate the National Abortion Federation for legal fees and increased security for "expenses incurred as a result of the violation of my Preliminary Injunction Order". Judge Orrick wrote that Daleiden's attorneys, Cooley and Ferreira, were included in the sanctions intended to ensure "current and future compliance" with his order. Family Cooley has been married to Jana, a former court reporter, since 1975. Their son, Michael, is a producer for Fox Sports and is married to a deputy district attorney. Their daughter, Shannon, was elected unopposed as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court and will begin her term in 2020. Election history References External links Los Angeles County District Attorney web page biography Stephen L. Cooley litigation record at Thomson Legal Records 1947 births 20th-century American