Free Republic

A federal judge in Los Angeles this week struck down the Trump administration’s policy of denying certain Department of Justice law enforcement grants to cities that adopt “sanctuary” policies and refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement. The Los Angeles Times reports: U.S. District Judge Manuel Real issued a permanent, nationwide ban against a Justice Department policy that gave an edge to obliging police departments applying for a community policing grant program. In doing so, Real dealt a legal setback to the Trump administration in its aggressive campaign to crack down on illegal immigration and to force compliance from law enforcement...

A federal judge was removed from a discrimination case against the U.S. Navy by an appellate court that said he committed five abuses of discretion, including preventing an expert witness from testifying. Los Angeles-based Judge Manuel Real was sitting in Hawaii as a visiting judge when he was reassigned by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Real has appealed the decision to the Judicial Conference of the U.S. in Washington. He had been hearing a case involving Ronald L. Obrey Jr., a Pearl Harbor shipyard supervisor who contends he was denied promotion because he is part...

LOS ANGELES - The censure of a Los Angeles federal judge by a judicial discipline council was inadvertently posted online for more than a week by a legal publishing service. The judicial council of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco last month ordered U.S. District Judge Manuel Real be publicly reprimanded for his intervention in a bankruptcy case. The order was made available on the Internet by Thomson/West, but the 9th Circuit had not made it public because Real had appealed the decision on Dec. 15. It was unclear when the ruling would officially be released....

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 chairman of the House Judiciary Committee introduced a resolution Monday to allow the panel to begin investigating a California judge for possible misconduct. In a statement, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., urged committee members "not to jump to any conclusions in this matter" involving U.S. District Judge Manuel Real. "Today's resolution merely allows the House Judiciary Committee to open an investigation to determine the facts," Sensenbrenner said. "Only after the House Judiciary Committee has conducted a fair, thorough and detailed investigation, will committee members be able to consider whether ... impeachment might be warranted." Sensenbrenner added that the next step...