Lyris Younge. Courtesy photo

Former Philadelphia Family Court Judge Lyris F. Younge, accused by state disciplinary authorities of due process violations and excessive delays in child custody cases, is set to stand trial Jan. 17.

However, the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline has ruled that Younge—who was transferred out of Family Court to the Philadelphia court system's civil division following a series of The Legal Intelligencer articles exposing Younge's history of violating parents' rights—will not be suspended while her case plays out.

But the court said in its Wednesday order that suspension was not off the table if new allegations of misconduct surface in the interim.

Younge's lawyer, Charles Gibbs of McMonagle Perri McHugh Mischak and Davis in Philadelphia, said the court's decision to not immediately suspend Younge was significant.

"I think the court determined there was not sufficient evidence to suspend Judge Younge," Gibbs said Wednesday. "We look forward to the court hearing all the evidence and not just allegations brought by the board."

He added, "Judge Younge is appreciative that she can continue the work that the people of this county elected her to do."

The Judicial Conduct Board filed its 10-count complaint against Younge on Aug. 20. The 68-page complaint alleged that in one Children's Fast Track appeal, Younge filed her responding opinion 261 days late. In 12 other matters identified in the JCB complaint, Younge's opinions were between 35 and 197 days late.

The complaint said Younge delegated the task of writing Children's Fast Track opinions to her law clerks, but failed to properly supervise them to ensure that the opinions were filed on time.

The JCB also brought ethics charges in connection with several incidents, many previously reported by The Legal, in which Younge prohibited parents and attorneys from testifying on their own behalf.

In one case, Younge refused to allow a mother to reenter the courtroom to testify at a termination of parental rights hearing after she had become ill and stepped out into the hallway. Younge ultimately entered an order terminating the mother's parental rights. On appeal, the Superior Court vacated the ruling and remanded the matter, after which Younge recused from the case.

In another matter, Brian McLaughlin, an attorney handling a family case before Younge, was held in contempt after being summoned to another judge's courtroom for a hearing that took longer than expected, making him late for his case before Younge. According to the appeal filed by McLaughlin and his lawyer, Karen Deanna Williams, Younge continually put off the contempt hearing for McLaughlin until it appeared that she had decided to let the matter go.

Then, during a scheduled hearing Jan. 23 for the family matter McLaughlin was handling, Younge allegedly ambushed him at the last minute with an unscheduled contempt hearing, according to the appeal. According to the JCB complaint, Younge found McLaughlin in contempt and fined him $750, but the Superior Court reversed that ruling this past April.

In each instance cited, the JCB said Younge "failed to accord to every person or entity who had a legal interest in a proceeding, or that person or entity's lawyer, the right to be heard according to law."

The JCB also said Younge "repeatedly demonstrated an improper demeanor that was impatient, discourteous, disrespectful, condescending and undignified."

"While presiding over cases in Family Court, Judge Younge repeatedly spoke harshly, yelled, screamed and berated attorneys, social workers, and others who appeared before her," the complaint alleged.

In one case, according to the complaint, Younge caused an attorney "to cry in open court, in front of her client and her colleagues" after the attorney arrived 14 minutes late for an immunization hearing.

The JCB also alleged Younge exhibited "a pattern of conduct of holding parents in contempt and ordering their detention, without conducting a contempt hearing," including in a case in which the Superior Court found Younge inappropriately locked up a grandmother at a court hearing because the grandmother did not know her 26-year-old daughter's whereabouts in a case involving her grandchild.

In several other matters, the JCB alleged, Younge applied the incorrect standard of law when ruling that the Philadelphia Department of Human Services failed to make reasonable efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of a child from their home.