Court Asked to Find Judge in Contempt

Citing the refusal of the chief federal judge in Los Angeles to relinquish control of a case as ordered, attorney Stephen Yagman called on a higher court Wednesday to hold U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real in contempt.

The outspoken civil rights lawyer charged in a petition prepared for the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that Real has “blatantly” refused to obey the court’s order to reassign a case involving alleged misconduct by Yagman.

“It has long been settled law in this country that persons with disputes not take those disputes to the streets and that court orders be obeyed,” Yagman said. “There is no exception to these rules for judges. . . .

“His conduct is contemptuous and an affront both to the law, which he is sworn to enforce, and to the entire federal bench, which he brings in disrepute by his wrongful conduct.”

Judge Real was not immediately available for comment.

The 42-year-old lawyer urged Real at a hearing on Monday to step out of the case. But the judge retained control of the case and scheduled another hearing for March 16.

A three-member appellate panel held in August that Real had abused his discretion when he imposed a $250,000 fine on Yagman for alleged courtroom misconduct in a $20-million defamation suit.

While declaring that they “empathize” with Real’s desire to punish Yagman, the justices held that the large fine could not stand because it posed a threat to the balance between sanctioning improper behavior and chilling vigorous advocacy.

Because of a combination of the fine, overreaching and poor lawyering, the “fragile appearance of justice has taken a beating,” they said.

“It is time to conclude the matter as quickly and as painlessly as possible,” the judges said.