Court Administrator’s Office

Maureen A. Skerda was elected as the first female Judge of the 37^th Judicial District and began her term of office in January, 2006. Judge Skerda became the 26^th President Judge on January 1, 2010.

She practiced law in Warren and Forest Counties since 1988 as a staff attorney at Northwest Legal Services, Assistant District Attorney and served as Court Hearing Officer from 1992 through 2005.

Judge Skerda is a graduate of Rosary High School, Aurora, Illinois, Illinois Wesleyan University and the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. Prior to assuming the bench, she served for 17 years as a Master in Divorce and Equitable Distribution, Support matters, juvenile dependency and delinquency matters.

Judge Skerda is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Pennsylvania State Conference of Trial Judges, and the Juvenile Court Judges Commission. She participates in the Regional and Local Leadership Roundtables and the Autism Committee on Juvenile Dependency issues. Judge Skerda has also initiated a Local Treatment Court.

She is active in her community and has served on a number of boards including the MH/MR, ATOD, and CYS advisory boards, the Economic Opportunity Council, Warren General Hospital’s Hospice Ethics Committee, and the Struthers Library Theatre.

She is married and her family includes her husband, stepson, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren .

Gregory J. Hammond was elected as Judge in November, 2009, and commenced his first term in January of 2010. He was retained for a second ten-year term in November of 2019, receiving the highest percentage of retention votes in the state. Judge Hammond practiced law in Warren County from 1983 until taking the bench, serving as Solicitor for Warren County Children and Youth Services, Solicitor for the City of Warren and Mental Health Review Officer for the Court in addition to his private practice.

Judge Hammond was born and raised in Corry, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Corry Area High School in 1976, Dickinson College in 1980, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1983, having earned Law Review honors.

Judge Hammond is married to Jackie (Collins) Hammond and they are the parents of two daughters, Madison Gurdak and Logan Hammond, and one grandson, Gray Gurdak.