Judicial Services Report 2016, 225th Anniversary Edition

Judge Wilson Bucher November 1, 1920 to February 4, 2016

Judge Michael J. Perezous August 1, 1936 to August 14, 2016

Judge Michael J. Perezous returned to Lancaster after graduating from the Temple University School of Law and completed a preceptorship with local attorney George C. Xakellis. He was briefly a sole practition- er before forming a partnership with Attor- ney Xakellis and Jon Mongiovi, which en- dured for 20 years as the firm Xakellis, Pe- rezous, and Mongiovi, until Judge Pere- zous's election to the bench in 1981. He dubbed the law firm "the United Nations". While serving as a lawyer and a jurist, he was given an "AV" rating by his peers, which represents the highest level of exper- tise and achievements as a trial lawyer. He represented private clients as a criminal defense attorney and maintained a general civil practice, as well as a solicitor for West Hempfield Township, the Annunciation Or- thodox Church, and the Lancaster County Institution District. He was also an assistant solicitor for both Lancaster City and Coun- ty. He was retained by Lancaster County voters for two additional 10-years terms fol- lowing his first, until reaching the mandato- ry retirement age of 70 in 2006.

A 1942 Franklin and Marshall graduate, Judge Bucher served as an Army Captain in WWII until 1946, then earned a University of Pennsylvania law degree in 1948. Admitted to the Lancaster County Bar in 1950, Judge Bucher was in private law practice in Columbia until 1971. From 1960 to 1964 he served as Lancaster County Assis- tant District Attorney and District Attorney from 1964 to 1968. He was elected Judge of the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas in 1972 and appointed Senior Judge in 1982, serving until 2000.