Judge Cheryl L. Austin: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

Hon. Cheryl L. Austin is a judge for the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. She was elected to the bench in 2011.

Austin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University School of Speech in 1977.

After graduating from University, she was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, where she served from 1977 to 1984, holding the rank of Lieutenant. Austin retired as a Captain from the Navy in 2004, after 24 years of both active duty and reserve service. She subsequently earned a J.D. from Capital University Law School in 1995.

Upon obtaining her law degree, Austin became a staff attorney for the Ohio Supreme Court, where she served as the constituent liaison for Chief Justice Thomas Moyer.

Austin began her legal career in Pennsylvania in 1997. She joined the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office in 1999, where she served as an assistant district attorney for two years.

Austin entered into solo practice from 2001 to 2004. After leaving the private sector, she became an assistant solicitor with the Montgomery County Solicitor’s Office, where her work included family, employment, and real estate legal issues. Just prior to her election, Austin had returned to her solo practice, where she handled elder law, criminal defense, and estate resolution cases.

At the time of her election to the bench, Austin became the first African-American female elected to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. During her time on the bench, she has presided in the Family Court, the Orphans’ Court, the Criminal Court, and the DUI Court, which she helped launch in 2014.

Her memberships have included serving as the co-chair for the Pennsylvania Bar Association Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, and co-chair of the Montgomery Bar Association Diversity Committee. She was on the Montgomery County Community College board of trustees, an advisory board member of the Laurel House, a member of the Willow Grove NAACP, and the Cheltenham NAACP.

She was named "Outstanding Business Woman" by the American Business Women's Association, a "Rising Star" by Philadelphia Magazine, and received the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Austin was also an adjunct professor at Palmer Theological Seminary.

A married mother of one, she has served as an assisting minister at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.