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Biography of Judge Joseph H. Young

Senior District Judge Joseph H. Young was born in 1922 in Hagerstown, Maryland. After graduating from Mercersburg Academy, Judge Young entered Dartmouth College in 1941, but left Dartmouth in 1942 to serve in the United States Army in World War II. From 1942 to 1946, he served in the infantry in the European Theatre, earning the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Upon his discharge from the U. S. Army in 1946, Judge Young returned to Dartmouth College and received his A.B. in 1948. Subsequently, Judge Young attended the University of Virginia School of Law, from 1948-1951, serving on the board of managers for the Virginia Law Review.

After completing his education, Judge Young practiced law at Marbury, Miller and Evans in Baltimore, Maryland. From 1952 to 1972, he joined the law firm of Piper and Marbury, first as an associate (1952-58), then as partner (1958-71), and finally as managing partner (1966-71).

On July 19, 1971, President Nixon nominated Judge Young to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. This nomination was confirmed by the Senate on July 29, 1971; and on the same date, Judge Young was commissioned as United States District Judge. Judge Young assumed senior status on August 1, 1987, and served in that capacity until July 31, 2002, when he took inactive senior status. Judge Young passed away on March 14, 2015, at the age of 92.

Admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1951, Judge Young was also a member of the Federal Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association and the Baltimore City Bar Association, as well as the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. Judge Young was also an instructor at McCoy College of The Johns Hopkins University, from 1954 to 1964.

Judge Young was a member of the board of directors of many organizations, including the Legal Aid Society (1958-71); the Commercial Industrial Combined Health Appeal (1964-71); the American Cancer Society from 1958-2015, acting as chair from 1977-80; and the American Court Society, national chair, from 1982-86. He was also a member of the Rule Day Club; Lawyers Round Table; the American Cancer Society, Maryland Division, acting as chair from 1969-71; the Oncology Advisory Council of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Trust Advisory Board, Maryland Public Health, from 1969-2015; the Union International Contra Cancer, Executive Committee and Finance Commission, acting as chair from 1981-2015; the NJ Governor’s Advisory Committee on Cancer, from 1982-2015; the Dartmouth Alumni Council, 1973-2015; and the Johns Hopkins Club, 1991-2015. Judge Young was also a trustee, deacon and elder in his church.

In addition to the service awards he received from the military, Judge Young was the recipient of the Annual Layman’s Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology, in 1982; the Distinguished Service Award from the American Cancer Society in 1983; and the Alumni Award from Dartmouth College in 1983.