HONORABLE JOHN J. TRUCILLA
(Administrative Judge)
Married to Suzanne; six (6) children; Judge – Erie County Court of Common Pleas, 6th Judicial District; Elected November 6, 2001; Seated January 2, 2002; President Judge (January 2016 – 2021); Administrative Judge-Family Division (January 2006 – December 2015; January 2021 – Present); Born in Erie, Pennsylvania; Educated at the University of Dayton (B.A. Political Science)1982; University of Dayton School of Law (J.D.)1985; Admitted to the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the United States District Court for the Western District of PA, and all Pennsylvania Courts; judicial law clerk to the Honorable Shad Connelly, January 1986 – January 1988 (recipient of Distinguished Law Clerk Award); Assistant District Attorney, Erie County, Pennsylvania, January 1988 – April 1990;June 2001 – December 2001; United States Department of Justice, Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, April 1990 – January 2001 (Chief of Northwest Pennsylvania Division, 1994 – 2001), (numerous commendations and distinguished service awards from, inter alia, the United States Attorney General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Div., U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Marshal Service, PA Attorney General, and Erie County District Attorney’s Office); Knox, McLaughlin, Gornall & Sennett, January 2001 – June 2001; Adjunct Professor, Penn State University-The Behrend College,1989 – Present; Adjunct Professor Gannon University (undergraduate and graduate levels), January 2002 – Present; Instructor, PA State Police Academy, Northwest Training Center, 1997 – 2001(Presenter of local, state and federal seminars regarding miscellaneous topics involving criminal law); Member-Citizen Oversight Committee of OCY – 2006; Member-By-Laws Revision Committee of the PA Conference of State Trial Judges-2006; Member- Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Member-American Judges Association; Member-Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission; Coordinator-Committee for PA’s Roundtable for Children Initiative(2007); Member-Erie County Criminal Justice Coalition; Member – Erie Truancy Task Force, 2007-Present; Chosen as Youth Leadership Institute 2011 Person of the Year; Co-Founder of Erie County’s Parent Coordinator Committee; Selected as 2012 Honorary Chairperson of Global Youth Service Day for Erie County, April 21, 2012. Founder – “Juveniles on the Run for Success”; Member of “Flipside” initiative to deter youth gun violence, May 2015 – Present; Introduced and implemented “Courthouse Comfort Canines” to Erie County Court of Common Pleas, October 2015; Selected for Cathedral Preparatory President’s Hall of Fame as Distinguished Alumnus, April 2016; Recipient Boys & Girls Club Community Service Award for Commitment to Youth, October 24, 2018; Recipient of PA Bar Association Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille Judge’s Award: For Commitment to Legal Aid, August 22, 2019; Presented Gannon University CHESS (College of Humanities, Education & Social Sciences) Outstanding Adjunct Professor Award (2020 – 2021).