California

Judge Real, Who Desegregated California Schools, Dies at 95

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real ordered the desegregation of the Pasadena Unified School District in 1970 and barred the district from discriminating on the basis of race

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real, who was an active judge for five decades and desegregated schools in Southern California, has died, the courts said. He was 95.

Real, whose courtroom was in Los Angeles, died on Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California said in a statement posted on Friday.

Real was the longest-serving active district judge in the United States before he took senior status in November. He was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966 and served as an active judge for 50 years, the statement said.

Real ordered the desegregation of the Pasadena Unified School District in 1970 and barred the district from discriminating on the basis of race.

Before becoming a judge, Real was the U.S. attorney and an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California. He also served in private practice.

He served in the U.S. Navy reserve during World War II from 1943 to 1945.

Real was nominated to be a judge and confirmed in 1966, the same year that the Central District was created.

"Judge Real has been the heart and soul of our district since it was formed in 1966, and his passing leaves an unfillable void for us, his family, the legal world and the larger community," Chief Judge Virginia Phillips said in the statement.

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