Judge Craig A. Dally was unanimously selected by the judges of the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas to serve as the next president judge, with his five-year term beginning this month.

He is succeeding current President Judge Michael J. Koury Jr.

Dally was elected to serve on the Court of Common Pleas in November 2009 and was sworn in to his first 10-year term Jan. 4, 2010. He was retained for a second 10-year term in November 2019.

During his tenure on the court, Dally has served as administrative judge of juvenile court and, together with Problem Solving Court Coordinator Stephanie Spencer, founded the Northampton County Recovery Court and the Northampton County Mental Health Court in April 2015.

By appointment of the chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Dally is in his third two-year term of service on the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, being one of four judges statewide to serve on the commission. In addition, Dally is a member of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges and serves as chairman of the legislative committee.

Before his election as a judge on the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas, Dally served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 138th Legislative District in Northampton County. He was elected in November 1996 and was re-elected to six consecutive terms, with his service concluding Jan. 4, 2010.

During his tenure, Dally served as vice chairman of the appropriations committee and chairman of the house game and fisheries committee. He also served on the judiciary, rules, professional licensure and liquor control committees.

During his legislative tenure, Dally served by appointment to the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency from 2007 to 2010, vice president of the Pennsylvania Public School Financing Authority from 2002 to 2006 and as vice president of Pennsylvania Higher Education Financing Authority from 2002 to 2006.

Dally is a 1974 graduate of Pen Argyl Area HS. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and business from Lafayette College in 1978 and earned his law degree in 1988 from Villanova University School of Law. He is a member of the Pennsylvania and Northampton County Bar Association and was admitted to practice before all the Courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Supreme Court.