Manuel Real

Manuel Lawrence Real (pronounced "reel"; born January 27, 1924) is a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He was nominated in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He is most well known for his January 22, 1970 decision ordering Pasadena Unified School District to adopt a plan to correct racial imbalance at all levels. "It is ordered, adjudged and decreed that the defendants, Pasadena City Board of Education, Mrs. LuVerne LaMotte, Albert C. Lowe, Bradford C. Houser, John T. Welsh, and Joseph J. Engholm, as members of the Pasadena City Board of Education, and Ralph W. Hornbeck, as Superintendent of Schools . . . are enjoined from discriminating of the basis of race. . . in the operation of the district." His decision: "Commencing in September of 1970, there shall be no school in the District elementary or junior high or senior high school, with a majority of any minority students."

^[1]

The board of education and the superintendent adopted a forced busing plan to meet the new legal mandate. Judge Real did not order forced busing, that was creation of the Pasadena Unified School District.

Early life, education, and career

Born in San Pedro, California to Spanish immigrant parents,^[2] Real received a B.S. from the University of Southern California in 1944 and an LL.B. from Loyola Law School in 1951. He was in the United States Navy Reserve during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. He was an assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1952 to 1955. He was in private practice in San Pedro from 1955 to 1964. He was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1964 to 1966.^[3]

Federal judicial service

On September 26, 1966, Real was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California created by 80 Stat. 75. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 20, 1966, and received his commission on November 3, 1966. He served as chief judge of the district from 1982 to 1993.^[3] In 2006, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., introduced a resolution permitting the Judiciary Committee to investigate Real to see whether impeachment hearings were warranted.^[4] The impeachment effort was later dropped.^[5]

Decisions

In the 2000s, Manuel Real has been noted for erratic judicial behavior. From 2001 to 2009, Judge Real had custody of disputed Filipino assets, which he had to account for in 2009. A federal appeals court panel then wrote "This curious statement plainly fails to account for all transactions involving the assets during the eight years they were held in the clerk of court's custody. It doesn't give the reader even a basic understanding of the path by which $33.8 million worth of assets deposited in September of 2000 came to be worth $34.7 million today".^[6]

References

1. ^ 311 Federal Supplement. West Publishing. p. 501.
2. ^ O'Donnell, Santiago (May 6, 1991). "Tough Judge to Hear Suit Over Latino Voting Rights". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/print/1991-05-06/local/me-845_1_latino-voting-rights. Retrieved May 13, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Real, Manuel Lawrence". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=1973&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na. Retrieved April 22, 2010. 
4. ^ . Lodi News-Sentinel. September 21, 2006. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oLIzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IiEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6905,2640244&dq=manuel-real+impeachment&hl=en. Retrieved April 22, 2010. 
5. ^ . Law.com. August 4, 2008. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423490494. Retrieved April 22, 2010. 
6. ^ Los Angeles Times, November 13, 2009, article entitled "Appeals court criticizes Judge Real over accounting of $33.8-million trust."

Persondata
Name	Real, Manuel Lawrence
Alternative names
Short description	United States federal judge
Date of birth	January 27, 1924
Place of birth	San Pedro, California
Date of death
Place of death