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Manuel Real
Manuel L. Real was a judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Real joined the court in 1966 after being nominated by President Lyndon Johnson (D). He assumed senior status on November 4, 2018. Real died on June 26, 2019.[1]
Real served as chief judge of the court from 1982 to 1993.[2]
Early life and education
Born in San Pedro, California, Real graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in 1944 and received an LL.B degree from Loyola Marymount Law School in 1951. Real also served in the U.S. Naval Reserves from 1943 to 1945.[2]
Professional career
Real was an assistant United States attorney with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California from 1952 to 1955. Real was a private practice attorney in the State of California from 1955 to 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Real for U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California. Real served in that position from 1964 to 1966.[2]
Judicial career
Central District of California
Real was nominated to the United States District Court for the Central District of California by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 26, 1966, to a new seat created by 80 Stat. 75. He was confirmed by the Senate on October 20, 1966, and received commission on November 3, 1966. He assumed senior status on November 4, 2018. Real served as the chief judge of the Central District of California from 1982 to 1993.[2]
Criticism
In 2009, there were calls for the 85 year-old Real to retire his seat on the federal bench, citing his high rate of appellate reversals and dictatorial manner in the courtroom. According to the Los Angeles Times: "Judiciary analysts have calculated that Real's reversal rate in some years has been as high as 10 times the average for federal district judges." However, judicial misconduct overview agencies found his behavior to lack the "willfulness" required for formal sanctions.[3]
Abuse of power case
Real was investigated by the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council in 2006 on allegations of abusing his power as a federal judge. Real was publicly reprimanded in 2006 by the Judicial Council for lying to the council about using his position to help a probationer assume control of a bankruptcy. The judge also received a private reprimand in 2008 from the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council over failure to disclose his reasoning on why he abused his power.[4]
Philippines dictator case
Judge Real was formally reprimanded by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on November 14, 2009, for his handling of assets earmarked towards a late dictator of the Philippines. As part of the reprimand, the panel ordered a review of the accounting used in the assets. One judge on the panel called his accounting "curious" and "filled with cryptic notations" when looking at the handling of the assets that were valued over $33.8 million.[5]
Noteworthy cases
Erin Andrews stalker case (2010)
- See also: United States District Court for the Central District of California (USA v. Barrett, 2:09-mj-02270-DUTY)
- See also: United States District Court for the Central District of California (USA v. Barrett, 2:09-mj-02270-DUTY)
Judge Real presided in the case of Michael David Barrett, a former insurance executive from Illinois who was accused of stalking ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews in Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Ohio. Barrett pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement and originally agreed to a 27-month prison sentence. However, Andrews pleaded to Judge Real that she wanted Barrett locked up for as long as possible. Despite her plea for a longer sentence, the judge sentenced Barrett to 27 months in prison on March 15, 2010.[6]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Metropolitan News-Enterprise, "Manuel Real, Most Senior Federal Judge, Dies At 95 After More Than 52 Years on Bench," July 1, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Judge Manuel Real's Biography," accessed November 5, 2018
- ↑ Los Angeles Times "Critics want to bench Judge Manuel L. Real" August 16, 2009
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Judging the judges," December 13, 2009
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Federal judge criticized for handling of claimants' assets," November 14, 2009
- ↑ Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Erin Andrews Stalker Gets Jail Time," March 15, 2010 (dead link)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: NA-New Seat |
Central District of California 1966–2018 |
Succeeded by: Sherilyn P. Garnett
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 |
Anderson • Bratton • Christie • Collins • Cowen • Davis • Ely • Freedman • Gordon • Higginbotham • McNichols • Muecke • Nichols • Port • Rabinovitz • Robinson • Simons • Suttle • Weber • Whelan • Zampano | ||
| 1965 |
Bryant • Celebrezze • Coffin • Coleman • Collinson • Corcoran • Doyle • Eubanks • Fortas • Frankel • Gasch • Gibson • Gordon • Harris • Hemphill • Hill • Hunter • Landis • Langley • Leventhal • Maxwell • McEntee • Mehrtens • Nichol • Reynolds • Russell • Smith • Tamm • Thornberry • Young | ||
| 1966 |
Ainsworth • Atkins • Boyle • Cabot • Cassibry • Copple • Craven • Cummings • Dyer • Fairchild • Feinberg • Ferguson • Fullam • Garrity • Godbold • Goldberg • Goodwin • Gray • Guinn • Harvey • Hauk • Heaney • Heebe • Hickey • Hogan • Kaufman • Kinneary • Krentzman • Lay • Leddy • Lord • Lynch • MacKenzie • Mansfield • McCree • McRae • Mitchell • Motley • Napoli • Nichols • Noland • Peck II • Peckham • Pettine • Pittman • Porter • Real • Roberts • Robinson • Robinson • Rubin • Russell • Scott • Seals • Seitz • Simpson • Singleton • Skelton • Smith • Smith • Taylor • Thomas • von der Heydt • Watson • Winter • Wise | ||
| 1967 |
Arnow • Beckworth • Belloni • Butzner • Cancio • Carter • Clayton • Combs • Comiskey • Curtin • Eaton • Edenfield • Fernandez-Badillo • Gesell • Gordon • Jones • Keith • Kellam • Lambros • Maletz • Marshall • Masterson • Merhige • Morgan • Murray • Neville • Pollack • Pregerson • Theis • Troutman • Van Dusen • Waddy • Weiner • Weinstein • Whipple • Williams | ||
| 1968 |
Aldisert • Baldwin • Bownes • Bright • Green • Gubow • Henderson • Holloway • Hufstedler • Judd • Justice • Keady • Kerner, Jr. • Lasker • Latchum • Lawrence • McMillan • Morgan • Newman • Nixon • Pratt • Re • Rosenstein • Schwartz • Smith • Stahl • Travia • Woodward | ||
