Legal Ethics
9th Circuit Calls for Accounting of Judge’s Handling of $33.8M Trust
Posted Nov 13, 2009, 07:24 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Describing a controversial federal judge's accounting for a $33.8 million trust as "curious," the 9th Circuit today called for another judge to provide an accounting of how the money was handled.
The decision concerns disputed assets of the late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos which were entrusted to Real, who is now 85, while the federal courts sorted out his heirs, reports the Los Angeles Times' L.A. Now blog.
No wrongdoing by Real has been alleged, but parties are concerned that some assets may have been distributed that aren't fully accounted for in a cryptic half-page listing provided by the judge, the newspaper explains.
“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,” writes the appellate panel in its opinion.
Earlier related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "Judge Manuel Real Wins Dismissal of Two Misconduct Complaints"
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