Sen. Fumo’s trial has been postponed for a week because Judge William H. Yohn, Jr., was hospitalized.

In the courtroom, Yohn frequently complained of having a relentless cough. In a several instances while interviewing jurors, it stopped him mid-sentence. The court took last Friday off so Yohn could attempt to recover.

Let’s all hope Yohn, who is 73, according to the Inquirer, has a speedy recovery.

Here’s more details from the Inquirer:

The federal corruption trial of State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo has been postponed for a week because the trial judge, U.S. District Judge William H. Yohn Jr., has been hospitalized.

Yohn, 73, who was appointed to the federal bench in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush, has been suffering from a cough and had complained in court last week about viruslike symptoms.

…

An official from Yohn’s chambers notified both sides this afternoon that Yohn was hospitalized for tests, and had postponed the trial until next Monday.

Here’s his Wikipedia entry:

William H. Yohn, Jr. is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Born in 1935 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Judge Yohn graduated from Princeton University in 1957 and received his J.D.. from the Yale Law School in 1960. Judge Yohn served in the United States Marine Corps from 1960 to 1961, and continued in the reserves until 1965. He was in private practice in Pottstown from 1961 to 1981. During that time, Judge Yohn served as an assistant district attorney (1962-1965) and as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1968 to 1980. In 1981 he was elected as a judge on the court of common pleas for Montgomery County, a position he held until 1991, when was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to the Eastern District. He assumed senior status in 2003.

We’ll have more tomorrow.

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