Manuel Real

Manuel Lawrence Real (January 27, 1924 – June 26, 2019) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He was appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Early life, education, and career Born in San Pedro, California to Spanish immigrant parents, Real received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California in 1944 and a Bachelor of Laws from Loyola Law School in 1951. He was in the United States Navy Reserve during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1952 to 1955. He was in private practice in San Pedro from 1955 to 1964. He was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1964 to 1966. Federal judicial service On September 26, 1966, Real was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California created by 80 Stat. 75. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 20, 1966, and received his commission on November 3, 1966. He served as Chief Judge of the district from 1982 to 1993. In 2006, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., introduced a resolution permitting the Judiciary Committee to hold an impeachment inquiry investigating Real to see whether impeachment hearings were warranted. The impeachment effort was later dropped. In 2008, Real received a public reprimand for his handling of a bankruptcy matter. Real assumed senior status on November 4, 2018. He was the last federal court judge in active service to have been appointed by President Johnson, and measured by length of active service the third-longest-serving federal judge ever, and the longest-serving since the Civil War. He died on June 26, 2019, aged 95.