Judge Who Ordered Desegregation Of Pasadena Schools In 1970 Dies

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, CA -- Memorial services were pending today for Senior U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real, who in 1970 ordered the desegregation of the Pasadena Unified School District.

Real died Wednesday at the age of 95. A cause of death was not immediately available, and funeral arrangements were not announced.

Real -- whose courtroom was located in the Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles -- was one of the first district judges appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the Central District of California in 1966.

Before assuming senior status on Nov. 4, Real was the longest-serving active district judge in the United States and in modern history in the United States, having served 50 years as an active federal judge.

Real served as the chief judge of the Central District from 1982 to 1993. Under his leadership and in large part thanks to his key support, Congress created the Southern and Eastern Divisions of the court in 1980 and 1992, respectively.

During his tenure at the Central District, Real also provided assistance to understaffed courts throughout the country and served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1981 to 1984. In one of his most well-known cases, on Jan. 20, 1970, he ordered the desegregation of the Pasadena Unified School District and enjoined the school district from
discriminating on the basis of race.

Born in San Pedro, Real received his undergraduate degree in 1944 from USC and graduated from Loyola Law School in 1951. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve during World War II from 1943 to 1945. Following graduation from law school, he served as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of California from 1952 to 1955, and was in private practice until 1964. He then
served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California from 1964 to 1966.

Johnson nominated Real to the bench for the then newly created Central District of California on Sept. 26, 1966. Real was confirmed by the Senate the following month and received his commission on Nov. 3, 1966.

In honor of Real, the flags outside the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles will be flown at half-staff.

City News Service contributed to this report.