Former PA Supreme Court Justice Ralph J. Cappy Passes Away at Age 65
Posted By L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire on May 5, 2009 9:15am PDT
Judge
Ralph J. Cappy, the former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, passed
away suddenly on Friday night. Justice Cappy was arguably the most
forceful leader of the Court for the past 20 years, but came under fire
during the 2005 pay raise.
Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, who succeeded Cappy as the court’s leader, issued a press release regarding the loss.“Ralph
was well respected nationally by the chief justices of the United
States." Justice Castille said. "He served on the board of directors of
the Conferences of Chief Justices and the National Center for State
Courts. He was awarded the National Center’s prestigious Justice Harry
Carrico Award for outstanding leadership and innovative programs that
addressed court-related problems. He was the recipient of numerous
other awards both during his tenure and after his retirement from the
court.“We are deeply saddened by his untimely passing.”
Prior
to being elected to the high court in 1990, Justice Cappy had been an
Allegheny County Common Pleas judge since 1978. He became chief justice
of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2003.