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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer passed away at 74.
The longtime liberal justice reportedly died suddenly at his home near Pittsburgh.
The unexpected death makes the Pennsylvania governor’s race in November that much more important. The governor will name his replacement.
“This is a tremendous loss for the Court and all of Pennsylvania,” the newly appointed Chief Justice Debra Todd, who is the longest serving justice on the court, said in a statement.
“Pennsylvania has lost a jurist who served the Court and the citizens of the Commonwealth with distinction,” she continued. “Chief Justice Baer was an influential and intellectual jurist whose unwavering focus was on administering fair and balanced justice.”
“He was a tireless champion for children, devoted to protecting and providing for our youngest and most vulnerable citizens,” the statement read.
“Baer was first elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2003 and was sworn in as chief justice in 2021 after a lengthy legal career. The justice was set to retire at the end of the year at the age of 75, which is the court’s mandatory retirement age,” Fox News reported.
“The Pittsburgh native reportedly graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971 before obtaining his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law in 1975. Baer also served as deputy attorney general for Pennsylvania from 1975 to 1980,” the outlet added.
“His distinguished service and commitment to justice and fairness spanned his decades on the bench – first as a family court judge in Allegheny County and eventually as an administrative judge in family court before being elected to serve on the Supreme Court,” Todd said. “On behalf of the Court, we offer our deepest condolences to Chief Justice Baer’s family, friends, and colleagues.”
Max Baer, the chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, has died only months before he was set to retire, the court confirmed Saturday. He was 74. https://t.co/gG7tL3Ek3p
— The Intelligencer (@TheIntellNews) October 2, 2022
The passing of Baer means Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf will fill the vacancy left in the state’s highest court.
“I’m saddened to learn that Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer has passed away. He was a respected and esteemed jurist with decades of service to our courts and our commonwealth. I am grateful for his contributions and leadership in the Supreme Court,” Wolf said on Twitter.
Chief Justice Emeritus Thomas Saylor said Baer was a “consummate gentleman” and a “dear friend.”
“He was very conscious when he took over as chief justice of continuing to foster a spirit of collegiality among the justices,” Saylor said. “And to make sure that — notwithstanding any type of division on a particular case — at the end of the day, it was to remain a very collegial and respectful court. I think that will also be part of his legacy.”
“Three weeks ago, I was in Pittsburgh and went with him to the West Virginia football game,” Saylor said. “It was a grand evening. I am very blessed that I had that time with him recently.”
Kim Berkeley Clark, president judge of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, spoke highly of Baer.
“Now, we’re at a place where we have the family division as the largest division in the court of common pleas in Allegheny County,” Clark said. “We have judges who . . . want to be juvenile and family court judges – that’s where they desire to be.”
“I think that probably is the heart of why he did what he did, in terms of all the reforms he made, recognizing that every child needs to have that – that family, that love of family, that closeness that he has with his own family,” she said. “I’m just guessing about that, but I do know that was a big part of who he was – his love for his family – because we heard it all the time.”
Betsy Ceraso, who was the chief law clerk to Baer for his entire tenure on the state’s Supreme Court, said: “He was always wanting to mentor and have younger clerks come in and be successful. He always wanted to have interactions, and thought it was important for us to perpetuate having good lawyers go out into the world and know how to approach the law.”
