The Troublesome Federal Judge Who Was Never Disciplined by Congress, His Peers, or the Press
What the Career of the Nation’s Longest-Seated Jurist Tells Us About the Judicial System
While we should not rejoice at the death of Manuel Real, his passing offers some good news: At long last, California’s most troublesome federal judge is off the bench.
Unfortunately, the fact that it took death to retire Real is a scandal that survives him. And that scandal should be a lasting stain on our judicial and political systems.
Indeed, the career of Real—whose 53 years on the federal bench in Los Angeles made him the nation’s longest-serving active judge—offers ugly lessons about character, ideology, impunity, and the impotence of impeachment. …
