Max Baer

David Max Baer (December 24, 1947 – September 30, 2022) was an American judge who served as a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from the time of his election in 2003 until his death in 2022. He was elevated to the court's most senior position, chief justice, in 2021. Nicknamed the "Fighting Judge" during his quest to be elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 1989, he went on to institute a series of reforms in the court's Family Division that were replicated by courts across the United States. He was subsequently honored for his positive impact on the nation's judicial system by the President of the United States. In 2003, he was described by editors at The Philadelphia Inquirer as "a jurist with a great thirst for making the state's courts function better for all." Formative years Born as David Max Baer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 24, 1947, Max Baer was the oldest son of Henry "Budd" Baer, a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, who became a successful auto dealer after relocating to western Pennsylvania, and Helen (Scheimer) Baer, who was a native of Dormont, Pennsylvania, and past president of the University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association.