John L. Musmanno was born in Stowe Township, PA on March 31, 1942. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington & Jefferson College (1963), graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law (1966), where he was an assistant editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.
For the next 15 years, Musmanno was in private practice, while being elected as a Magisterial District Justice from Allegheny County in 1970. In 1981, Judge Musmanno was elected to the Common Pleas Bench in Allegheny County, where he served in the Family, Criminal and Civil Divisions. In November 1997, he was elected to the Superior Court and retained in 2007.
He received the President’s Award, Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association in 1991, and the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County award in 1993. He served on the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board 2001-2005 and on the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline 2005-2009, and as its President Judge 2008-2009.
In 2008, his alma mater, Washington & Jefferson College bestowed upon him the W. Edward Sell Achievement in Law Award. In 2013, Judge Musmanno took Senior Status from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. He retired from the bench at the end of 2021.
Judge Musmanno is a member of the American, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations.