Investigators searched for clues after a Lehigh County judge was found dead in his home Monday afternoon.
Lehigh County Coroner’s Office Deputy Coroner Richard Pender pronounced Judge Robert Halal dead at his home on Main Street in Whitehall after police found him around 2:30 p.m.
The coroner’s office planned a Tuesday autopsy to determine how the 52-year-old judge died.
Halal served as a magisterial judge in District 31-1-07 based in Whitehall. A district judge is the lowest level judge in Pennsylvania, much like a justice of the peace in other states. Halal served since 2007.
Halal's court office was closed by 3 p.m. Monday, and a sign said that was "due to an emergency."
Whitehall Township police joined the coroner’s office in investigating the death.
