Manuel Real

Manuel L. Real serves in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. This district is in the 9th Appellate Circuit. He was appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson. Real (he pronounces it as "reel") was born on January 27, 1924 and attended Loyola Law School. The 82 year old jurist has a lifetime appointment to the bench.

His most well known decision was in 1970, ordering forced busing in the Pasadena, California school system. His ruling marked the first time that a school district outside the South had been ordered to bus students. This action led to a 32 year decline in the performance of the Pasadena school system until 2002, when the last vestiges of busing were removed by then Superintendent Percy Clark. Since the end of busing in 2002, academic achievement has improved dramatically, with schools routinely surpassing the Academic Performance Index (API) score of 800 (associated with high performing schools in California).

In August 2006, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis), introduced a resolution to enable his panel to investigate Real. The committee will determine if impeachment proceedings are required. Such impeachments proceedings are very rare for a judge. Recently, an investigative committee of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' Judicial Council conducted a closed-door hearing in Pasadena into this misconduct allegation against Real. The charges are related to alleged wrongdoing in a bankruptcy case over which he presided.

On September 21, 2006, Real told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property that he did nothing wrong in seizing a bankruptcy case from another judge. In the Real case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has received widespread criticism by choosing not to discipline the judge. On September 19, 2006, a special commission headed by Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer castigated the 9th circuit for its inaction, and Mary M. Schroeder, the 9th Circuits' chief judge, ordered a formal investigation of the Real matter. These actions are in addition to the subcommitee hearings ordered by Sensenbrenner [1].

He also ruled in 1995 that then-Attorney General Dan Lungren was in contempt of court and threatened him with jail.

He is noted for telling lawyers in the courtroom "This isn't Burger King. We don't do it your way here."

References

[1] Los Angeles Times, Sept. 22, 2006