[1] The English Crown thought very highly of Cooke, calling him a lawyer "not inferior to any other in his profession of the civil law", and a man who had given "special service to his Majesty" in the Court of Admiralty.
[1] It was strongly suggested that he should be made the full-time judge of the Court of Admiralty, rather than remain as deputy to Lord Chancellor Loftus.
Cooke on his own petition was appointed the permanent Admiralty judge for the province of Leinster in the same year, a position he held till 1647.
[3] The Crown's high opinion of Cooke seems to have been justified: he was both an able judge and a very conscientious one, who continued to perform his functions even amidst the political turmoil of the 1640s.
It was Cooke who wrote to the English Government informing them in unemotional terms of the Attorney General's death, and asking for him to be replaced at once, partly to continue the quo warranto campaign.
He was one of the leaders of the moderate Protestant party, who pursued a policy of compromise and sought to find common ground with their Roman Catholic colleagues.