9th Circuit Court Judge Considered ‘Progressive Icon’ Has Passed Away

The 9th Circut Court is well known for being among the most liberal in the nation. It seems like the vast majority of the time, when a Circuit Court blocks something President Trump is trying to accomplish, it comes from the 9th circuit…

So while I pity his passing, this will undeniably come as a MAJOR shake up…

According to Fox:

Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals died Thursday in Southern California, a court spokesperson confirmed. He was 87.

Reinhardt died of a heart attack during a visit to a dermatologist in Los Angeles, the court spokesperson said.

“As a judge, he was deeply principled, fiercely passionate about the law and fearless in his decisions,” 9th Circuit Chief Judge Sidney Thomas said in a statement. “He will be remembered as one of the giants of the federal bench.”

Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, called Reinhardt “one of the greatest jurists of our time. A searingly brilliant Angeleno and true progressive icon.”

Today, we mourn the loss of one of the greatest jurists of our time. A searingly brilliant Angeleno and true progressive icon, Judge Stephen Reinhardt understood that the law exists to protect the voiceless and vulnerable. We need more judges like Stephen Reinhardt.

— Mayor Eric Garcetti (@MayorOfLA) March 30, 2018

Trump will be appointing his replacement. So while I do not relish in anyone’s passing… we hopefully WILL NOT get “more judges like him” to take his place.

Reinhardt was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and went on to become the sixth longest-serving judge on the court.

Reinhardt was a liberal stalwart on the bench, which he used to try to help the underdog, including immigrants and minorities, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Last year he wrote in an opinion that a Trump administration order to deport a man who entered the country illegally nearly three decades ago and became a respected businessman in Hawaii was “inhumane” and “contrary to the values of the country and its legal system.”

So, yes. The fact that Trump will now appoint his successor is HUGE.

Reinhardt joined another judge in ruling that the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance were unconstitutional, a decision that was later overturned.

Lovely.

Hector Villagra, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and a former Reinhardt clerk, called Reinhardt’s death “devastating,” The Times reported.

He recalled the judge working in his chambers at 11 p.m. on a Saturday writing a dissent to the court’s decision not to rehear a death penalty appeal.

“He knew it was totally pointless,” Villagra said. “It wasn’t going to affect the outcome. But it was the right thing to do, and that’s what mattered. He wanted his voice and his objections heard.”

“He knew it was totally pointless, and yet he had absolutely no problem spending more tax-payer money.”

RIP, Judge Reinhardt