PA Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer Memorial Service Scheduled

PITTSBURGH, PA — A public memorial service will be held Tuesday for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer on the Duquesne Univeristy campus. Baer, 74, died over the weekend at his home near Pittsburgh just months before he reached the court's mandatory retirement age of 75.

No cause of death was given, but Baer died suddenly, according to a news release from the court.

As the justice of longest and continuous service on the Court, Justice Debra Todd now becomes the court's chief justice.

“This is a tremendous loss for the Court and all of Pennsylvania,” Todd said in a statement.

“Pennsylvania has lost a jurist who served the court and the citizens of the commonwealth with distinction. Chief Justice Baer was an influential and intellectual jurist whose unwavering focus was on administering fair and balanced justice."

Baer was a family court judge in Allegheny County and then a family court administrative judge in family court before being elected to the Supreme Court.

Baer is survived by his wife, two children and five grandchildren.

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