Samuel P. Murray was elected to Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County on November 3, 2015, and was sworn into office on January 4, 2016. Judge Murray presides over civil and criminal trials and is assigned as an Associate Judge of Domestic Relations.

Judge Samuel P. Murray was born and raised in Northampton County. He graduated from Easton Area High School in 1976 and from Moravian College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1980. In 1983, he graduated and received his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law. Upon his graduation in 1983, he was admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District for New Jersey. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Business Law at Moravian College for 10 years.

Judge Murray practiced law for over 32 years. He served as an Assistant Public Defender in Northampton County from 1988 to 1993, and was subsequently appointed by the Court to serve as Conflicts Panel Counsel in both Criminal and Juvenile Court. In his roles as an Assistant Public Defender and Conflicts Panel Counsel, he was appointed as lead counsel in a number of many serious cases, including those involving the death penalty. His broad legal experience included jury trials and other civil, criminal and family law matters. In 2003, he was appointed by the President Judge as the Child Custody Master and Judicial Hearing Officer in Juvenile Court, where he served for ten years.

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