9th Circuit Rejects ‘Cowering Attorneys’ Claim as Reason to Boot Judge from Case
A federal appeals court has rejected a claim that U.S. District Judge Manuel Real should be booted from the resentencing of a conspiracy defendant because lawyers are too afraid of the judge to press their case vigorously.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that Real had erred in sentencing defendant Hai Waknine, but there was no showing that he could not be fair, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.).
Waknine’s lawyer, Ronald Richards of Beverly Hills, Calif., had maintained there is “a generalized pattern of cowering by attorneys who appear in this district court.” But the 9th Circuit said the allegation was not supported by the record in the case. “We note that neither Waknine’s attorney nor the government’s attorney faltered in the least bit in their arguments or retreated from their positions at the sentencing and restitution hearings,” the court said in its opinion (PDF).
Appeals panels have removed Real from eight cases, and he was reprimanded for showing favoritism to a female defendant in a bankruptcy case, the Daily Journal story says. He is also being investigated based on allegations he failed to follow appellate orders and to provide reasoned opinions, according to the story. The ABA Journal profiled the judge in a September feature.
Richards told the Daily Journal that he finds it difficult to practice before Real because he is in such fear. “I’m very timid in front of him, and my clients don’t get my best efforts,” he said. “Part of being an experienced lawyer is knowing when to back off. He’ll be short with you. He won’t look at you. He’ll be cantankerous, and it’s not for the weak-kneed.”
