Michael J. Koury, Jr. was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County on November 3, 2009, and was sworn into office on January 4, 2010. Judge Koury is the Administrative Judge of Criminal Court. He presides over civil and criminal trials.

Judge Koury graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1986 and Moravian College in 1990, where he received a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, graduating in the top 3% of his class. Judge Koury is also a graduate of Villanova University School of Law. Based upon his class rank at Villanova (the top 3% of his class), he was made a member of the Villanova Law Review.

After graduating from Villanova University School of Law, Judge Koury took a position with the prominent New York City Wall Street law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel. While at Cahill, he worked on numerous antitrust, securities and insurance litigation matters.

Judge Koury’s father, the late Michael J. Koury, had been a District Judge for nearly twenty years. Following his father’s untimely death, Judge Koury decided to leave his position at Cahill and waged a write-in campaign to replace his father as District Judge for District Court 03-2-12 in Wilson Borough, Northampton County. In 1997, he was elected to this position and served for 12 years as a District Judge. As a District Judge, he presided over a variety of trials, including summary criminal, civil, landlord/tenant, and traffic. He also presided over criminal preliminary hearings. Judge Koury was the President of the Northampton County District Judge Association from 2004 through 2006.

In addition to devoting his full attention to his position of District Judge, from 1998 through 2010, Judge Koury maintained a part-time, general civil law practice allowed under the rules governing District Judges. Judge Koury has been admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Southern District of New York and the District of New Jersey.

Judge Koury resides in Easton with his wife Elaine, and their children, Josephine, Rebecca and Michael III. His father, the late Michael J. Koury, was a teacher and basketball coach at Allentown Central Catholic and Phillipsburg High School and was a District Judge in Wilson Borough for nearly 20 years. His mother, Josie Koury, operates Josie’s New York Deli in downtown Easton.

Related Information

All Court Judges