Ralph Francis Scalera
Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1971 and confirmed by voice vote, Ralph Francis Scalera was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He earned a law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School (now Carey Law School) in 1955. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1930–2011
- Appointed by
- Richard M. Nixon, 1971
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Harvard 1952 · University of Pennsylvania Law School (now Carey Law School) 1955
- Succeeded
- John Lester Miller
- Succeeded by
- Paul Allen Simmons
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Western District of Pennsylvania succeeded John Lester Miller | Nixon (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
Judicial Record
In our data, Scalera authored 20 published opinions for the court (1972–1976). Most cited: Fram v. Yellow Cab Company of Pittsburgh (47 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Fram v. Yellow Cab Company of Pittsburgh | 380 F. Supp. 1314 | 47 |
| 1976 | Consolidation Coal Co., Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. | 406 F. Supp. 1292 | 32 |
| 1975 | Jackson v. University of Pittsburgh | 405 F. Supp. 607 | 32 |
| 1973 | W. D. Rubright Co. v. International Harvester Co. | 358 F. Supp. 1388 | 32 |
| 1973 | Artman v. International Harvester Company | 355 F. Supp. 482 | 29 |
| 1973 | Fekete v. United States Steel Corporation | 353 F. Supp. 1177 | 27 |
| 1975 | Hooper v. Guthrie | 390 F. Supp. 1327 | 16 |
| 1972 | Artman v. International Harvester Company | 355 F. Supp. 476 | 14 |
| 1972 | Roy v. Jones | 349 F. Supp. 315 | 11 |
| 1975 | United States v. Graves | 394 F. Supp. 429 | 9 |
| 1976 | Cyclops Corp. v. United States | 408 F. Supp. 1287 | 8 |
| 1974 | United Mine Workers of America v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. | 378 F. Supp. 1206 | 8 |
| 1975 | United States v. Goslee | 389 F. Supp. 490 | 4 |
| 1975 | United States v. Wilkinson | 389 F. Supp. 465 | 3 |
| 1973 | United States v. Moses | 360 F. Supp. 301 | 3 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 20 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Ralph Francis Scalera?
- President Richard M. Nixon appointed Ralph Francis Scalera to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1971.
- Was Ralph Francis Scalera appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Ralph Francis Scalera was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Ralph Francis Scalera's confirmation vote?
- Ralph Francis Scalera was confirmed by voice vote on November 23, 1971. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Ralph Francis Scalera on?
- Ralph Francis Scalera was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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4 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).