Max Baer, the chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, has died only months before he was set to retire. He was 74, and died at his home near Pittsburgh. No cause of death was listed. Now, Justice Debra Todd becomes chief justice, making her the first female chief justice in the commonwealth’s history, a court spokesperson confirmed. Governor Tom Wolf ordered state flags at commonwealth facilities, public buildings and grounds lowered to half-staff out of respect for Baer, who was elected to the high court in 2003 and became its chief justice last year.