We have unfortunate news to report out of California, where one of the nation’s most liberal appellate judges died this weekend.
Judge Harry Pregerson, 94, joined the Ninth Circuit after being appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. He reluctantly took senior status just two years ago, at the age of 92. Pregerson was suffering from respiratory ailments, and died in his home surrounded by family. Prior to his death, Pregerson expressed his one regret to his wife: “The hard thing is that I don’t have strength anymore to help people.”
Judge Harry Pregerson
Pregerson, who was once referred to as a “thug for the Lord” by an attorney, dedicated his life to helping people, both on and off the bench. Because of his urge to help others, Pregerson’s jurisprudence was frequently criticized, with commentators griping that he “rule[d] with his heart instead of his head,” but according to UC Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, “For him the law was much less about abstractions and much more about what it would mean in people’s lives.” Here’s more from his obituary in the Los Angeles Times:
On the bench, Pregerson was often controversial. He stirred criticism when he refused to follow a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding California’s tough three-strikes sentencing law. Not long after the court’s decision, Pregerson dissented in rulings that upheld life sentences, some for relatively minor crimes.
His dissents were seen by some critics as insubordination, but Pregerson was frank about putting his conscience first.
“My conscience is a product of the Ten Commandments, the Bill of Rights, the Boy Scout Oath and the Marine Corps Hymn,” the Carter appointee said during his Senate confirmation hearing. “If I had to follow my conscience or the law, I would follow my conscience.”
A man committed to social justice, Pregerson once said that he “looked upon being a judge as a chance to help as many people as [he] could through the law.” There will never be another jurist quite like Judge Harry Pregerson.
We here at Above the Law would like to extend our condolences to Judge Pregerson’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. May he rest in peace.
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Harry Pregerson, one of the most liberal federal appeals court judges in the nation, dies at 94 [Los Angeles Times]
Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.