Federal judge Robert Takasugi dies

[ColbertWatcher]

From the Los Angeles Times
Robert M. Takasugi dies at 78; Japanese American federal judge had been interned in World War II relocation camp
Takasugi, who presided over the cocaine-trafficking trial of automaker John DeLorean, was known for his compassion for victims of injustice and his calm demeanor in the face of wild courtroom antics.
By Elaine Woo
August 7, 2009

(...)

"He was completely devoted to assuring that the proceedings in his court would be fair and seen to be fair," said Andrea Ordin, who appeared before Takasugi when she was a U.S. attorney in the late 1970s. "He also had a very high bar for the prosecutors. He was vigilant that the power of prosecutors not be abused. The prosecutors during the years I was there became better advocates because of it."

Among his other noteworthy cases was a 25-year legal battle between a University of California historian and the federal government, which was withholding the FBI files of former Beatle John Lennon on national security grounds. At one point in the case, he directed the FBI to disclose whether it had "used unlawful activities" in connection with its investigation of Lennon's political activities. The unusual order led to negotiations that eventually resulted in the release of the final 10 documents in 2006.

"When the government came in and claimed national security, he didn't take that lightly, but he wasn't prepared to suspend the law just based on the representation that national security might be implicated," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, who appeared in Takasugi's courtroom numerous times. "He said, 'Prove it up to me.' If the government couldn't prove it up, he didn't think twice about saying these documents belong in the public domain."

(...)

In 2002 he also threw out an indictment against seven Los Angeles residents who had been accused of fundraising for an Iranian opposition group listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department. Takasugi said the law classifying terrorist groups deprived the defendants of due-process rights because they were not given a chance to rebut the terrorist allegations before their group was placed on the list.

"He was the first judge to issue an opinion overruling this portion of the Patriot Act," Jon Takasugi said. "Part of that was because he was a victim of the terms 'national security' and 'military necessity' when he was interned as a child."

(more at the link)

--Los Angeles Times

[DainBramaged]

1. Let's hope he is replaced by someone who can at least sit in his chair

let alone fill his shoes.

:hi:

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Well said. n/t

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Wise decisions from a wise Nisei.

Would a white male judge have made the same decisions? Didn't many of them have the opportunity to do so, and decline?

Did the richness of his experiences more often than not lead him to better conclusions than someone who hadn't lived that life? And isn't the country better off for that?