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Biography
Ralph Francis Scalera (June 28, 1930 – January 27, 2011) was a former United States federal judge.
Born in Midland, Pennsylvania, Scalera received an A.B. from Harvard University in 1952 and an LL.B. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1955. He was in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957, after which time he went into private practice in Beaver, Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1959. Scalera later served as an assistant U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Pennsylvania, from 1959 to 1961, and a judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Beaver County, from 1964 to 1970. He was the Presiding Judge of the Common Pleas Court from 1966 to 1970, before again returning to private practice.
Scalera was nominated by President Richard Nixon on November 12, 1971 to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was confirmed by the Senate on November 23, 1971, and received his commission on November 30, 1971. Scalera served in that capacity until his resignation on May 1, 1976.
After his resignation, he returned to private practice in Pittsburgh. He died on January 27, 2011 in Beaver, Pennsylvania.