L.A. judge faces judgment of self in 2 rare probes

LOS ANGELES – U.S. District Judge Manuel Real has a reputation of playing rough on the bench, running his courtroom like a tyrant and shouting over lawyers on the losing end of his rulings.

However, he is also known to some as a fatherly, charming and sharp jurist who dedicates a considerable amount of time to help track the rehabilitation of defendants.

Now, the 82-year-old Los Angeles judge, who was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson, faces judgment himself.

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., has introduced a resolution to enable his panel to investigate Real. If it's approved, the committee would then consider whether impeachment proceedings are warranted for the judge, who has a lifetime appointment.

In addition, a special investigative committee of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' Judicial Council recently conducted a closed-door hearing in Pasadena into a misconduct allegation against Real.

Such committee probes are extremely rare, court officials said. Only five judges have been censured by judicial councils since 1997. And only 13 judges have ever been impeached by the U.S. House, according to court records.

Both the House and 9th Circuit actions stem from a long-running complaint against Real, alleging that he seized control of a bankruptcy case involving a defendant he knew, and allowed the defendant to live rent-free for years in a house she had been ordered to vacate.

“He's finally getting his comeuppance for all of his years of arrogance,” said criminal defense lawyer Victor Sherman, who once flashed an obscene gesture toward Real in court.

But many lawyers see the congressional committee action against Real as unwarranted.

“I believe what's occurring is outrageous and an example of an unjustified interference with the judicial branch,” said Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer George Newhouse, who called Real “one of the better and smarter judges” on the bench.

Even the lawyer who brought the bankruptcy misconduct allegation to the 9th Circuit's attention – and who was once fined $250,000 by Real only to see it dismissed on appeal – does not believe that Real should be impeached.

“I don't know of anything that Judge Real has done that could possibly rise to the level of an impeachable offense,” said lawyer Stephen Yagman, who was recently indicted on tax charges and has been a biting critic of judges.

Of the roughly two dozen U.S. District Court judges in Los Angeles, Real elicits the strongest reactions from lawyers. Some lawyers have winced after their cases were assigned to him.

Real's courtroom actions include ruling in 1995 that then-Attorney General Dan Lungren – who is now a U.S. congressman and on the House Judiciary Committee – was in contempt of court and threatening him with jail; reducing a confessed child pornographer's sentence to 60 days and reportedly trying to keep the proceedings secret; and ruling that the state law allowing pregnancy leave discriminated against men (that decision was overturned).

But the judge is also well-known for his camaraderie with his law clerks, who typically commute with him to court every morning. In addition, he has earned the admiration of some defendants for personally meeting with them to monitor their rehabilitation while on probation.

One of Real's probationers, loan-fraud convict Deborah Canter, was involved in a legal dispute with the family of her then-estranged husband over rent she owed in a home owned by a trust established by his parents.

She eventually filed for bankruptcy and agreed to move out of the house in 2000. However, after a request filed by Canter's attorney's secretary, Real took control of the bankruptcy case from a bankruptcy judge and blocked Canter's eviction.

Real then rejected eviction efforts by the trust. Court records state that when a lawyer for the trust asked Real why, his explanation was, “Because I said it, counsel.”

Yagman learned of the dispute and referred it to the 9th Circuit, but the complaint was dismissed by Mary Schroeder, the circuit's chief judge. Yagman appealed, to no avail.

But this year, after Sensenbrenner cited Real's case at a hearing on legislation to create an independent inspector general for the judiciary, Schroeder appointed a five-member committee of judges to look into Real's conduct.

Real's attorney, Donald Smaltz, would not comment about the 9th Circuit inquiry but called the potential congressional action “totally unfounded.”

“To impeach a judge, he or she has to be guilty of high crimes or misdemeanors, (and) none of that is present under any reading of the facts,” Smaltz said.

The lawyer acknowledged that Real “is not very tolerant of lawyers who appear to have gained their courtroom education by watching TV series.”

“He's a very complex person,” Los Angeles lawyer Stanley I. Greenberg said of Real. “He does a lot of good things . . . (but) he tends to be tyrannical on the bench.

“I don't pretend to try to understand him, but I think that the criticism lodged against him, while sometimes justified, does not portray the complete person.”

To impeach a judge, he or she has to be guilty of high crimes or misdemeanors, (and) none of that is present under any reading of the facts,” Smaltz said.

Is Smaltz a graduate of law school?

As I remember my junior high & high school civics, it only is dependent upon breach of "continuing good conduct", since it is otherwise a life time appointment.

Other offices require 'high crimes & misdemneanors' to impeach and immediately remove, since they can otherwise be voted out at the next election for simple bad conduct, with little harm done.

"Article III

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour,..."

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Now, the 82-year-old Los Angeles judge, who was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson, faces judgment himself.

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So, an 82-year-old guy is “one of the better and smarter judges” ruling on important cases on the Left Coast?

Wonder if George Newhouse insists on having only 82-year-olds handle the REALLY important details of his life, like his investments and retirement, fixing his car, etc.

Didn't think so...

Real then rejected eviction efforts by the trust. Court records state that when a lawyer for the trust asked Real why, his explanation was, “Because I said it, counsel.”

The law is in my mouth...

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