Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Wesley R. Payne IV released the following statement in tribute to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer, who died last night. Chief Justice Baer was first elected to the Supreme Court in 2003 and has been Chief Justice since 2021. He was set to retire at the end of this year, after he reached the Court’s mandatory retirement age of 75.
“The death of Chief Justice Baer is a huge loss for the Commonwealth,” Payne said. “Chief Justice Baer has provided steady and effective leadership on the Court and will leave behind a legacy of strong advocacy for children and families that led to innovative and far-reaching reforms with respect to the treatment of juveniles and domestic relations matters.
“Chief Justice Baer received numerous statewide and national recognitions for his work in family court, including Pennsylvania Adoption Advocate of the Year in 1997 and the 1998 federal Department of Health and Human Services Adoption 2002 Excellence Award for Judicial Innovation, which he received at a ceremony at the White House presided over by then-President Bill Clinton. Since becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 2003, he worked to implement further reform to Pennsylvania’s courts and child welfare system, reducing the number of children in foster care and the length of time a child spends there, and earning national recognition for Pennsylvania’s child welfare system.
“We offer our sincere condolences to Chief Justice Baer’s family, friends and colleagues. He was deeply committed to ensuring a smooth transition upon his retirement for Justice Debra Todd, who will become the first female Chief Justice of our nation’s oldest appellate court. That transition is also part of Chief Justice Baer’s strong legacy, and we stand ready to assist the Court in any way possible with that process.”
