---
alias:
- John M. Younge
category: Law Enforcement & Legal
created: 2026-09-23
location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
relations:
- fn: 1
  role: district judge
  start: 2019-08-20
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania]]'
- fn: 1
  reverse: true
  start: 2019-01-23
  type: appointed
  with: '[[Donald Trump]]'
- end: 2019
  fn: 1
  role: judge
  start: 1996
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas]]'
- end: 1995
  fn: 1
  role: deputy executive director and general counsel
  start: 1985
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority]]'
summary: Philadelphia Common Pleas judge appointed to the federal bench in 2019 and
  assigned the 2026 firearms and false-identification case against Eugene Horsch.
tags:
- Person
- Judge
- FederalJudiciary
- Philadelphia
- OlneyHouseInvestigation
updated: 2026-09-23
---

John Milton Younge (born 1955) is a judge of the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania](/organizations/united-states-district-court-for-the-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/), appointed by [Donald Trump](/people/donald-trump/) in 2019. He is the judge assigned to *United States v. Horsch*, No. 2:26-cr-00296, the federal case against [Eugene Horsch](/people/eugene-horsch/) arising from the traffic stop of June 19, 2026, that led to the [Olney House Investigation](/events/olney-house-investigation/).[^1][^2]

### Career

Younge was born in Philadelphia. He took a B.A. at Boston University in 1977, a J.D. at the Howard University School of Law in 1981, and a master's degree in judicial studies at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2011. After private practice he worked from 1985 to 1995 at the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, as staff attorney, development legal officer, deputy executive director, and from 1990 general counsel. He sat on the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County from 1996 to 2019 and has taught as an adjunct at Delaware County Community College since 2005. He was nominated to the federal bench on July 30, 2015, and again on July 17, 2018, without a Senate vote on either occasion; Trump renominated him on January 23, 2019, to the seat vacated by Mary A. McLaughlin, and he was confirmed on July 31 and commissioned on August 20, 2019.[^1]

### United States v. Horsch

A federal grand jury indicted Eugene Horsch on July 9, 2026, on two counts, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a fraudulent federal identification document. The government moved for pretrial detention on June 30, 2026, and the defense obtained three extensions of the motions deadline, the latest filed on September 18, 2026. Eugene Horsch has not been charged in connection with the missing women.[^2][^3]

[^1]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, "Younge, John Milton." https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/younge-john-milton
[^2]: United States v. Horsch, No. 2:26-cr-00296 (E.D. Pa.), criminal complaint and affidavit, June 26, 2026; motion for pretrial detention, June 30, 2026; third motion for extension, September 18, 2026. Docket via CourtListener / RECAP.
[^3]: Kramer, Jillian. "Eugene Horsch indicted in federal court on firearms, fake credentials charges," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* July 9, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/crime/eugene-horsch-olney-house-federal-indictment-20260709.html