Mariana Pfaelzer

Mariana R. Pfaelzer (February 4, 1926 – May 14, 2015) was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Mariana R. Pfaelzer
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office
December 31, 1997 – May 14, 2015
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office
September 23, 1978 – December 31, 1997
Appointed byJimmy Carter
Preceded byFrancis C. Whelan
Succeeded byNora Margaret Manella
Personal details
Born(1926-02-04)February 4, 1926
Los Angeles, California
DiedMay 14, 2015(2015-05-14) (aged 89)
Los Angeles, California
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Barbara (A.B.)
UCLA School of Law (J.D.)

Education and career

Born to a Jewish family in Los Angeles , California in 1926,[1] Pfaelzer received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1949 and a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law in 1957. She was in private practice in Los Angeles from 1957 to 1978.[2]

Federal judicial service

On August 8, 1978, Pfaelzer was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California vacated by Judge Francis C. Whelan. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 22, 1978, and received her commission the next day. She was the first female federal judge appointed to the district. She assumed senior status on December 31, 1997, serving in that status until her death.[2]

Notable cases

She is noted for her role in striking down California's Proposition 187, which would have denied services to undocumented immigrants in California.[3] Pfaelzer handed down a $600 million judgment against Countrywide Financial.[4]

Death and tributes

On May 14, 2015, Pfaelzer died in Los Angeles after serving on the federal bench for nearly 40 years.[5] George H. King, the Chief District Court Judge for the Central District of California, noted that she "was the epitome of what a federal judge ought to be . . . presi[ding] with brilliance, analytical rigor, practicality, wisdom, grace and courage."[6]

Personal

Pfaelzer was married to Frank Rothman, an attorney who died in 2000.[7]

gollark: That's just a sort of preambley bit.
gollark: ```I can’t even say what’s wrong with PHP, because— okay. Imagine youhave uh, a toolbox. A set of tools. Looks okay, standard stuff inthere.You pull out a screwdriver, and you see it’s one of those weirdtri-headed things. Okay, well, that’s not very useful to you, butyou guess it comes in handy sometimes.You pull out the hammer, but to your dismay, it has the claw part onboth sides. Still serviceable though, I mean, you can hit nails withthe middle of the head holding it sideways.You pull out the pliers, but they don’t have those serratedsurfaces; it’s flat and smooth. That’s less useful, but it stillturns bolts well enough, so whatever.And on you go. Everything in the box is kind of weird and quirky,but maybe not enough to make it completely worthless. And there’s noclear problem with the set as a whole; it still has all the tools.Now imagine you meet millions of carpenters using this toolbox whotell you “well hey what’s the problem with these tools? They’re allI’ve ever used and they work fine!” And the carpenters show you thehouses they’ve built, where every room is a pentagon and the roof isupside-down. And you knock on the front door and it just collapsesinwards and they all yell at you for breaking their door.That’s what’s wrong with PHP.```From the fractal of bad design article.
gollark: Are you suggesting Assembly is fine for webapps too?
gollark: I don't really believe that.]
gollark: The "wrong"ness of opinions, I guess, depends if your disagreement is based on aesthetic preference differences, or wrong facts/logic.

References
  1. Judges of the United States. 1983. p. 390. duh
  2. Mariana R. Pfaelzer at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  3. "CA's Anti-Immigrant Proposition 187 is Voided, Ending State's Five-Year Battle with ACLU, Rights Groups".
  4. NationalMortgageProfessional.com (3 August 2010). "Countrywide settles suits with $600 million-plus record payout".
  5. Egelko, Bob (1 June 2015). "Mariana Pfaelzer, judge who threw out anti-immigrant law, dies". sfgate.com. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  6. "Passing of the Honorable Mariana R. Pfaelzer". United States District Judge Central District of California Press Release. May 15, 2015.
  7. Pollack, Andrew (27 April 2000). "Frank Rothman Is Dead at 73; Lawyer Defended the N.F.L." The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2016. He is survived by his wife, Mariana Pfaelzer, a United States district judge in Los Angeles...

Sources
Legal offices
Preceded by
Francis C. Whelan		 Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
1978–1997		 Succeeded by
Nora Margaret Manella
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