HOLLIDAYSBURG — Magisterial District Judge Andrew Blattenberger has been designated to preside over Blair County’s DUI Court Treatment Program for 2025.

President Judge Wade A. Kagarise announced the appointment Wednesday as a way to keep the DUI Court operating while the county has two vacancies on its five-member bench.

“Judge Blattenberger’s assistance in 2025 will provide the DUI Treatment Court with strong and consistent leadership in 2025 and we are grateful that he stepped up in this time of need,” Kagarise said in his announcement.

While Judge Fred B. Miller began managing DUI Court upon being sworn into office in January 2024, senior judges started filling in after illness kept Miller out of the courtroom and led to his death in November.

While it’s uncommon to have a magisterial district judge preside over a county’s speciality court, Kagarise said it occurs in a few judicial districts in the state. Kagarise also said he consulted with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, which was aware and supportive of the pending appointment.

“The need for this is due to the failure of the elected leaders to fill our vacancies,” the president judge said of a responsibility that rests with state lawmakers.

While the state Senate moved forward this week with confirming judges for nine counties, as recommended by Gov. Josh Shapiro, none were approved for Blair County.

“Had Blattenberger not stepped up, the DUI Court may have ceased to exist,” Kagarise said.

Blattenberger, as the judge assigned to manage the DUI Court, will preside over regular court sessions with a DUI Court team that includes representatives from the district attorney and public defender’s offices. The team also includes a DUI Court coordinator, a case manager, treatment program representatives, prison personnel and local law enforcement officers.

Because Blattenberger is a magisterial district judge and not a county judge, he won’t have the authority to sentence defendants into the program or order someone’s removal, but those tasks can be handled by a county judge, Kagarise said.

“The mission of the DUI Court is to make offenders accountable for their actions, bringing about a behavioral change that ends DUI recidivism, stops substance abuse and protects the public by making the offender accountable,” Kagarise said.

Blair County’s DUI Court began developing in February 2006 under the leadership of Judge Daniel J. Milliron, who remains one of the county’s senior judges with a limited court schedule. In 2015, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts recognized Blair County’s DUI Court with a certificate of accreditation presented to Milliron.

Blattenberger, who in 2017 became a magisterial district judge for southern Blair County communities, will continue in that role in addition to leading the county’s DUI Court.

A native of Martinsburg, Blattenberger graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He began his legal career in 2001 in the Pittsburgh office of Klett, Rooney, Lieber & Schorling, then returned in 2009 to Blair County as a partner with Urban & Blattenberger in Hollidaysburg.

Blair County judges also regularly convene two additional problem-solving courts. Kagarise presides over the regional veterans’ treatment court and Judge Jackie Bernard presides over the county’s Drug Court.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.