Harry Pregerson
Encyclopedia
Harry Pregerson serves as a judge
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
. He was appointed to the Ninth Circuit in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter
. Previous to this he was appointed to the United States District Court for the Central District of California
in 1967 by President Lyndon Johnson.
He is a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles
(1947) and the University of California, Berkeley
Boalt Hall School of Law (1950). Judge Pregerson was also a U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant in World War II
, during which he was severely wounded in the Battle of Okinawa
.
. The conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt
has criticized him for "judicial activism
" and "rules with his heart instead of his head". He opposes the three strikes law
, even though the Supreme Court has affirmed its constitutionality.
based on the interpretation of equal protection clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment
, because in the recall six counties would use the antiquated punched card
s voting system. However, the decision was subsequently overturned by the en banc court of Ninth Circuit. Eventually, the recall was successful in removing Gray Davis
from governorship and Arnold Schwarzenegger
became the new governor of California.
and favors restraints on the power of federal government. He wrote the majority decision in the Ninth Circuit panel on Gonzales v. Raich
, holding that the Interstate Commerce Clause forbade the federal government to interfere with state laws that permitted the use of medical marijuana. However, the ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court
, which held that it is within Congressional power to regulate intrastate activities that are seen to influence interstate commerce, including using homegrown marijuana for medical purposes.
Pregerson's first ruling on Raich was based on federalism rather than his opinion on the merit of medical marijuana. In 2007 after Raich was decided by the Supreme Court, Angel Raich sued Alberto Gonzales again for substantive due process
violation, because the Controlled Substance Law deprived her fundamental right to life. Pregerson ruled against Raich this time, arguing it is still untimely to call using medical marijuana a "fundamental right" that is "implicit within the concept of ordered liberty" as only a minority of states legalized medical marijuana.
In the case United States v. Reynard, the circuit court upheld the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000
. Pregerson wrote a dissent, arguing that the act was an unconstitutional exercise of federal power.
certification in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
, a case involving female employees suing Wal-Mart
Corporation for gender discrimination. He wrote that although the class action suit had a massive class, "mere size does not render the case unmanageable". The decision did not address the employees' claim, but only affirmed its class action status. Wal-Mart said it will seek an appeal.
between Interstate 110 (California)
and Interstate 105 (California)
the "Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange
" in honor of the fact that Pregerson is the longest serving judge in the history of the Ninth Circuit. Furthermore, as a district judge, he supervised the settlement of the federal lawsuit against the Century Freeway, which enabled the interchange to be built. Judge Pregerson's name is now on signs at the interchange.
In 1992, the UCLA Alumni Association awarded Pregerson "Community Service
Award" for his efforts helping homeless families to house in Salvation Army
shelters.
As a World War II veteran
himself, Pregerson is an enthusiastic advocate for veterans' interests and has worked on behalf of the homeless veterans. In 2001 the Department of Veterans Affairs
honored him and the then-Acting Secretary Hershel Gober presented Pregerson with a token of appreciation with the VA seal.
, is a federal district judge for the Central District of California.
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Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
. He was appointed to the Ninth Circuit in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
. Previous to this he was appointed to the United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Central District of California
The United States District Court for the Central District of California serves over 18 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population...
in 1967 by President Lyndon Johnson.
He is a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(1947) and the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Boalt Hall School of Law (1950). Judge Pregerson was also a U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, during which he was severely wounded in the Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
.
Judicial philosophy
Pregerson's judicial philosophy is frequently characterized as liberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
. The conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network, lawyer, academic, and author. An outspoken Republican, evangelical Christian, he comments on society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is also a law professor at Chapman University School of Law.-...
has criticized him for "judicial activism
Judicial activism
Judicial activism describes judicial ruling suspected of being based on personal or political considerations rather than on existing law. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The definition of judicial activism, and which specific decisions are activist, is a controversial...
" and "rules with his heart instead of his head". He opposes the three strikes law
Three strikes law
Three strikes laws)"are statutes enacted by state governments in the United States which require the state courts to hand down a mandatory and extended period of incarceration to persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense on three or more separate occasions. These statutes became...
, even though the Supreme Court has affirmed its constitutionality.
Involvement in California recall election
Pregerson was part of a unanimous three-judge panel that ordered the postponement of 2003 California recallCalifornia recall election, 2003
The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003...
based on the interpretation of equal protection clause
Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause, part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provides that "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"...
of the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
, because in the recall six counties would use the antiquated punched card
Punched card
A punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
s voting system. However, the decision was subsequently overturned by the en banc court of Ninth Circuit. Eventually, the recall was successful in removing Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
from governorship and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
became the new governor of California.
Federalism
Judge Pregerson is a supporter of federalismFederalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
and favors restraints on the power of federal government. He wrote the majority decision in the Ninth Circuit panel on Gonzales v. Raich
Gonzales v. Raich
Gonzales v. Raich , 545 U.S. 1 , was a decision by the United States Supreme Court ruling that under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, the United States Congress may criminalize the production and use of home-grown cannabis even where states approve its use for medicinal...
, holding that the Interstate Commerce Clause forbade the federal government to interfere with state laws that permitted the use of medical marijuana. However, the ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
, which held that it is within Congressional power to regulate intrastate activities that are seen to influence interstate commerce, including using homegrown marijuana for medical purposes.
Pregerson's first ruling on Raich was based on federalism rather than his opinion on the merit of medical marijuana. In 2007 after Raich was decided by the Supreme Court, Angel Raich sued Alberto Gonzales again for substantive due process
Substantive due process
Substantive due process is one of the theories of law through which courts enforce limits on legislative and executive powers and authority...
violation, because the Controlled Substance Law deprived her fundamental right to life. Pregerson ruled against Raich this time, arguing it is still untimely to call using medical marijuana a "fundamental right" that is "implicit within the concept of ordered liberty" as only a minority of states legalized medical marijuana.
In the case United States v. Reynard, the circuit court upheld the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000
DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000
The DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 is a United States Act of Congress that primarily allows U.S. States to carry out DNA analyses for use in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System and to collect and analyse DNA samples.Under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 , 42...
. Pregerson wrote a dissent, arguing that the act was an unconstitutional exercise of federal power.
Civil procedure
In 2007, Pregerson authored the panel majority decision that affirmed the class actionClass action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
certification in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., a sexual discrimination lawsuit, was the largest civil rights class action suit in United States history. It charged Wal-Mart with discriminating against women in promotions, pay, and job assignments in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.The case...
, a case involving female employees suing Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
Corporation for gender discrimination. He wrote that although the class action suit had a massive class, "mere size does not render the case unmanageable". The decision did not address the employees' claim, but only affirmed its class action status. Wal-Mart said it will seek an appeal.
Honors
In 2002, the California Legislature officially named the giant interchangeInterchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
between Interstate 110 (California)
Interstate 110 (California)
Route 110, consisting of two segments of State Route 110 joined by Interstate 110 , is a state highway in the Los Angeles area of the U.S. state of California, mostly built to freeway standards...
and Interstate 105 (California)
Interstate 105 (California)
Interstate 105 is an Interstate Highway in southern Los Angeles County, California that runs east–west from near the Los Angeles International Airport to Norwalk...
the "Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange
Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange
The Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange is a stack interchange near the Athens and Watts communities of Los Angeles, California. It is the interchange of the following routes:...
" in honor of the fact that Pregerson is the longest serving judge in the history of the Ninth Circuit. Furthermore, as a district judge, he supervised the settlement of the federal lawsuit against the Century Freeway, which enabled the interchange to be built. Judge Pregerson's name is now on signs at the interchange.
In 1992, the UCLA Alumni Association awarded Pregerson "Community Service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
Award" for his efforts helping homeless families to house in Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
shelters.
As a World War II veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
himself, Pregerson is an enthusiastic advocate for veterans' interests and has worked on behalf of the homeless veterans. In 2001 the Department of Veterans Affairs
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
honored him and the then-Acting Secretary Hershel Gober presented Pregerson with a token of appreciation with the VA seal.
Personal life
Pregerson's son, Dean D. PregersonDean D. Pregerson
Dean D. Pregerson is a United States federal judge.Born in Los Angeles, California, Pregerson received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1972 and a J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 1976. He was a Parole hearing officer, Department of...
, is a federal district judge for the Central District of California.
External links
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