Maurice Blanchard Cohill

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cohill received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1951 and an LL.B. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1956. He was a captain in the United States Marine Corps from 1951 to 1953. He was in private practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1956 to 1965. He was a judge on the Juvenile Court of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania from 1965 to 1968, and then on the Court of Common Pleas of that county until 1976.

On May 4, 1976, Cohill was nominated by President Gerald Ford to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by Louis Rosenberg. Cohill was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 18, 1976, and received his commission on May 21, 1976. He served as chief judge from 1985 to 1992 and assumed senior status on November 28, 1994.