predecessor successor death_date death_place office termstart termend birth_date spouse article_title name alma_mater
john p. flaherty jr. . ronald d. castille 1 may 2009 green tree , pennsylvania chief of the supreme court of pennsylvania justice of the supreme court of pennsylvania justice 2003 1990 2008 2003 august 25 , 1943 janet cappy ralph cappy
 ralph j. cappy university of pittsburgh university of pittsburgh school of law
ralph cappy

ralph j. cappy -lrb- august 25 , 1943 -- may 1 , 2009 -rrb- was a justice of the supreme court of pennsylvania from 1990 to 1998 and chief justice of the court from 1998 to 2008 .
prior to joining the state supreme court , cappy was named to the allegheny county court of common pleas in 1978 and served as administrative judge of the civil division from 1986 to 1990 .
after leaving the court in january 2008 , he joined the law firm of buchanan , ingersoll & rooney and practiced commercial litigation .
he also served as chairman of the board of trustees at his alma mater the university of pittsburgh .
cappy died at his green tree home on may 1 , 2009 at age 65 .
