[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E414-E415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF JUDGE STEPHEN REINHARDT

                                  _____
                                 

                             HON. TED LIEU

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 10, 2018

  Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life 
of Judge Stephen Reinhardt--a beloved husband, father, and 
grandfather--who passed away on March 29, 2018 at the age of 87. He was 
a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for 
the Ninth Circuit.
  Stephen Reinhardt was born on March 27, 1931 in New York City. 
Stephen graduated from California's Pomona College with a degree in 
government and earned his law degree from Yale University in 1954. 
Stephen used his education on behalf of our armed forces and signed up 
to serve his country as a first lieutenant in the legal counsel's 
office of the Air Force. After his service, Stephen practiced 
entertainment and labor law in California and clerked for the late 
United States District

[[Page E415]]

Court judge for the District of Columbia, Luther Youngdahl. Stephen 
informally advised California Governor Jerry Brown and Los Angeles 
Mayor Tom Bradley and was appointed to the Los Angeles Police 
Commission, which he chaired before his judicial confirmation in 1980.
  In 1979, Stephen was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as a judge 
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 
California. The last of President Carter's appointments, Stephen would 
serve on the Ninth Circuit for 38 years and become the 6th longest 
serving judge in the Ninth Circuit's history.
  Stephen's judicial philosophy was defined by his empathy for the 
underdog, authoring rulings that often sided with the most down-trodden 
of our citizens. Stephen described this empathy as being inspired by 
his relationship with his step-grandfather Max Reinhardt, a Jewish 
filmmaker who had fled the horrors of Nazi Germany and came to America. 
Some of Stephen's rulings were later reversed by the Supreme Court, but 
his steadfast dedication and commitment to creating a more just society 
never wavered. When asked if he was upset with the Supreme Court for 
overturning some of his decisions, Stephen replied, ``Not in the 
slightest! If they want to take away rights, that's their privilege. 
But I'm not going to help them do it.''
  Stephen's vision of the law empowered the expansion of civil 
liberties and civil rights. He authored rulings designating 
California's overcrowding of prisons as unconstitutional, overturned a 
Washington state law prohibiting doctors from prescribing medication to 
help terminally ill patients die with dignity, and ruled that certain 
regulations and restrictions on a woman's ability to access healthcare 
services was unconstitutionally vague and imposed an undue burden on 
women.
  Even though the publication The Weekly Standard would describe 
Stephen as ``the liberal bad boy'' of the federal judiciary, Stephen's 
critics admired his ability to transcend political differences and 
praised his legal reasoning. Stephen authored the ruling striking down 
California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages, writing 
that the ban ``serves no purpose and has no effect, other than to 
lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, 
and to official reclassify their relationships and families as inferior 
to those of opposite-sex couples.'' The Supreme Court would recognize 
the right of marriage equality a year later.
  Stephen is survived by his wife Ramona Ripston, the former director 
of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, his three 
children Mark, Justin, Dana, and seven grandchildren whom I hope take 
comfort in the way Stephen lived his life as a deeply thoughtful, 
compassionate and moral citizen. May his memory be a blessing to us 
all.

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