David R. Cashman, longtime jurist in Allegheny County, dies at 76

For many judges in Allegheny County’s criminal courts division, giving the opening instructions in a jury trial can be monotonous.

The information — outside of the name of the defendant and charges they face — doesn’t change. It’s page after page of reading aloud to make sure jurors know how to perform their job.

But for Judge David R. Cashman, the opening instructions were like a performance. He shared anecdotes to illustrate important points.

There was a glint in his eye as he held up and flipped through each page of his daily court calendar to explain why the court day might start a little later or have a longer lunch.

He was comfortable and wanted the jurors to feel that way, too.

“He was the epitome, to me, of what a judge is all about,” said longtime friend and defense attorney Patrick Thomassey. “He cared. He cared about the people in front of him. He cared about the lawyers.”

Cashman, 76, of Mt. Lebanon, died late Sunday at his home.

He had retired at the end of last year, but returned as a senior judge in September, picking up any overflow cases that were going to trial, including a few homicides, said Judge Jill E. Rangos, the administrative judge in the criminal division.

“He was willing to do whatever anybody needed help with,” she said. “He loved trying cases. He was clearly in his element here.

“He just loved working.”

So much so, his son, Alex Cashman said, that it wasn’t really work to him.

“He found what he wanted to do and loved it,” he said.

David R. Cashman grew up in North Haven, Conn., and earned his bachelor’s degree from Brown University. How he ended up in Pittsburgh, he used to tell people, was a computer error.

Alex Cashman said that when his dad was starting to look at law schools, a computer error at Brown resulted in transcripts of another student, junior David L. Cashman, being sent by mistake.

His dad kept getting rejection letters, Alex Cashman said, because the law schools didn’t think he had completed his undergraduate work yet.

Finally, in a pinch, and needing a school, David R. Cashman’s brother, who worked at Duquesne University, told him to send his stuff in.

He was accepted and graduated from Duquesne’s law school in 1971.

After earning his law degree, David R. Cashman went into private practice, primarily doing plaintiff’s work as a civil litigator. He also served as the solicitor for Duquesne Light Co. and the Allegheny County Democratic Party, his son said.

David R. Cashman was appointed to a vacant seat on Common Pleas Court in 1989 and won his first 10-year term in 1991.

He was retained twice.

Rangos said that Judge Cashman served as a mentor and role model.

“His door was always open,” she said. “Even when he was busy, he took the time to help me when I was new to the division.”

She appreciated his leadership, collegiality and work ethic.

“He always accorded everyone an opportunity to present their case with a view to making sure justice was served,” Rangos said.

James Wymard, a longtime defense attorney, tried dozens of cases before Cashman. Wymard said the judge treated the parties and attorneys with dignity and respect.

“He was a consummate gentleman,” he said.

Cashman’s temperament was perfect for the bench, Wymard said.

“There was a presence — a dignity he had — the way he carried himself and presented himself to the public.”

Judge Cashman was married to his wife, Kathryn, for 42 years, and they had two sons, Alex and Chris Cashman.

Alex Cashman, who is an assistant district attorney in the homicide unit, said his father’s love for the law influenced his own career decisions.

“It was very interesting dinner-table conversation,” he said, noting that not many kids have parents talking about murderers and drug dealers at the end of each day. “It was something that fascinated me.”

Judge Cashman talked often about the high-profile cases he presided over. They included the case of three police officers who were charged with voluntary manslaughter in the 1995 killing of Jonny Gammage, as well as the trial and subsequent retrials in the triple fatal shooting at Mr. Tommy’s Sandwich Stop in Homewood in 2002.

He also presided over the trial of Patrick Stollar, who was convicted of killing an elderly woman in Upper St. Clair in 2003.

As a judge, Thomassey said, Cashman wasn’t ruled by sentencing guidelines. Instead, he would listen to argument from both sides and make the decision that was right, he said.

Sometimes, Thomassey continued, that meant cutting a person a break, especially when addiction or mental health issues were driving their behavior.

Thomassey, who was friends with Cashman for 40 years, described him as quiet and reserved.

“He had a wit about him — he’d whisper things to you and crack you up,” he said.

Thomassey, who played football in college, had tried to get into Brown University, but didn’t make it academically, he said. Cashman teased him about it often.

Both Wymard and Thomassey also talked about Cashman’s love of golf, which they played often with him. He was a member at St. Clair Country Club.

“He’s going to be greatly missed,” Wymard said.

In addition to his wife and sons, Cashman is survived by five grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday at William Slater II Funeral Home at 1650 Greentree Road, Scott Township, 15220.

A blessing service will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, with entombment to follow at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Pittsburgh Food Bank.