---
title: "Cheryl Lynn Allen | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cheryl-lynn-allen-8223"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-02"
---

# Cheryl Lynn Allen

Superior Court of Pennsylvania · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
- State: Pennsylvania
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2008-present
- PA Family Sign up for emails PA Family ") Judge Cheryl Allen Of Counsel Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen is the first black woman to be elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, where she served from 2008 until her retirement in 2015.
- Retired Pennsylvania judge, the first African‐American woman elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and a former Pittsburgh public school teacher
- She also held the role of an adjunct professor in Criminal Justice at Point Park University for a decade
- After law school, Allen served as a staff attorney for Neighborhood Legal Services, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and the Allegheny County Law Department, while also maintaining a private civil practice in employment discrimination and family law

### Education

- She graduated from Schenley High School, obtained a B.A. in Elementary Education from Pennsylvania State University in 1969, and later received her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1975.

### Additional information

- She has also been recognized with multiple awards, including the Geneva College Serving Leader Award (2015) and Women of the Year honors from the Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly
- Born December 16, 1947.
- Date of birth: 1947-12-16
- Post‐retirement, Allen is Of Counsel with the Pennsylvania Family Institute and the Independence Law Center
- Trial judge in both family and criminal courts before her appellate appointment
- Active in community and legal advocacy, including founding Women Without Walls, a ministry promoting unity among women of diverse cultural and denominational backgrounds.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### recording photography evidence presentation

Scope: statewide

For Pennsylvania Common Pleas proceedings, statewide Pa.R.J.A. 1910 prohibits courtroom broadcasting, recording, and photography unless an exception or judicial authorization applies; the rule also recognizes judge-authorized electronic or photographic means for evidence presentation.

Evidence excerpt: the use of electronic or photographic means for the presentation of evidence

[201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?d=&file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F201%2Fchapter19%2Fchap19toc.html)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8223/cheryl-lynn-allen/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8223/cheryl-lynn-allen/)
- [Superior Court of Pennsylvania current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8223/cheryl-lynn-allen/)
- [201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?d=&file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F201%2Fchapter19%2Fchap19toc.html)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8223/cheryl-lynn-allen/)
- [Cheryl Lynn Allen](https://ballotpedia.org/Cheryl_Lynn_Allen)
- [Cheryl Allen, Esq. - PA Family](https://pafamily.org/about/team/allen-cheryl)
- [Wikidata: Cheryl Lynn Allen](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18921317)

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