Legal News

A Real Mess: Federal Judge Booted From Another Case

By Dan Slater

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to escape the conclusion that, at 84 years old, U.S. District Judge Manuel Real is working purposively to earn himself an early, if not ignominious, retirement.

In March, Judge Real got himself tossed from a securities fraud trial for allegedly aiding the prosecution. Then, just two weeks ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals removed Real from the Honda class action, saying he abused his discretion by certifying the class on his own without making any findings regarding Rule 23’s requirements for class certification.

Here’s the latest: On Friday, in what the Recorder reports as “a rare move,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit booted Real from a long-running patent infringement battled between Microsoft and Research Corporation Technologies. The Federal Circuit panel threw out Microsoft’s 2006 win over RCT, reversed Real’s ruling declaring RCT’s patents unenforceable, and tossed Real’s orders that found the patents invalid and noninfringing. (Here’s the opinion.)

“After a thorough review of all the evidence, testimony, and facts of this case, this court concludes the strongly expressed convictions of the trial court in this case may not be easily and objectively reconsidered,” wrote Judge Randall Radar for the three-judge panel.

RCT first filed suit against Microsoft in 2001 for infringing on six patents related to digital halftoning. At first with another judge, RCT won a summary judgment motion that some of Microsoft’s products were infringing. But after the case was given to Real, things went Microsoft’s way.

Terrence McMahon, the McDermott partner who represented RCT before Real, told the Recorder: “It was clear that he had a point [of] view and we disagreed with it — we tried the case and he cut us off at every pass. I’ve never had something like this in my whole career, and I hope I never do again.”

Real did not return the Recorder’s call seeking comment.

Real has seen at least eight of his other cases snapped away by the 9th Circuit. In April 2006, he faced a potential impeachment hearing in Congress over allegations that he interfered in a bankruptcy case to help a woman whose parole he supervised. (Congress wound up dropping the impeachment.) In January 2008, the judicial discipline review body for the federal courts, the Conduct Committee of the Judicial Conference, disclosed that Real had been accused of a pattern in 72 cases over the years of not providing reasons for decisions as required.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on August 04, 2008 (boomark / email).