John C. Uhler, Retired Judge

Overview

The Honorable John Uhler – (Of Counsel) is a retired Judge and member of CGA Law Firm’s Litigation group. He focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, estate litigation, Orphan’s Court matters and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Judge Uhler is an accredited mediator and arbitrator. He has presented and lectured on topics ranging from advanced civil practice, juvenile law, fair trial free press, and professional ethics. Judge Uhler has also served as an expert witness in professional ethics and education law.

Prior to his election to the trial court bench in 1989, Judge Uhler was in private practice, litigating a range of civil matters including trademark, antitrust, security fraud, tax litigation and white collar crime. He also handled Orphan’s Court matters and estates. Judge Uhler served as the elected York County District Attorney from 1978 to 1982 and was a Federal Prosecutor, opening the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Harrisburg, PA in 1972. In 1973, Judge Uhler served as a senior law clerk for Federal Judge R. Dixon Herman of the Middle District.

As a state trial judge, he presided over complex civil and criminal matters and juvenile court proceedings for over two decades, prior to assuming senior judge status in 2010. From 1996 to 2001 he served as President Judge and Orphan’s Court Judge. As an active member of the Conference of Pennsylvania State Trial Judges, Judge Uhler served for 12 years on the State Trial Judges Ethics Committee, which responds to and issues advisory opinions on judicial ethics matters raised by common pleas judges and judicial candidates.  He also chaired the Conference’s President Judge’s Committee.

During his tenure in the juvenile court, Judge Uhler made outstanding contributions to the welfare and futures of at-risk youth and their families throughout the Commonwealth. In 1998, he formed Pennsylvania’s first Juvenile Mental Court Program (JUMP), which was recognized by the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission’s Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Court Operated Program of the Year Award in 2005. Governor Ed Rendell appointed Judge Uhler to the State Council for Interstate Juvenile Supervision in 2009. In the wake of investigations around the juvenile justice scandal in Luzerne County, the State Senate appointed him to the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice to develop appropriate recommendations for juvenile justice reform. He also outlined the Juvenile Section of the State Conference of Trial Judges.

Judge Uhler is also the founder and chairman of the award-winning York County’s Truancy Prevention Initiative, which brings together the school districts, Children and Youth Services, social services agencies, probation officers, parents and the courts to address truancy, its impact on delinquency and high school dropouts. The York County Youth Truancy Reduction Program has become a model for the Commonwealth. For his distinguished advocacy on behalf of children and youth, Judge Uhler was honored with the Child Advocate of the Year Award by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Children’s Rights Committee in 2011. The Pennsylvania Legal Services Network awarded him the PLAN Excellence Award in 2014 for his work in support of those served by the civil legal programs of the network.

Judge Uhler is a recipient of numerous distinguished awards including the Central Penn Business Journal’s 2021 Legal Excellence Award and is now serving as Past President of the York County Bar Foundation for 2022.

Direct Phone Number

(717) 718-3970