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# Harry Pregerson

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1979-present
- Judge, District Court, C.D. California, 1967-1979
- Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, 1966-1967
- Judge, Los Angeles California Municipal Court, 1965-1966
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky called him “a model for other judges” who used their power to respect dignity and improve the world

### Education

- University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- University of California, Los Angeles

### Additional information

- He died on November 25, 2017, in Los Angeles at age 94.
- He held that seat for 36 years, assuming senior status in 2015.
- Opposition to harsh sentencing laws: In 2003, he refused to apply California’s “three-strikes” law in a case, dissenting in later rulings upholding life sentences for minor crimes.
- Humanitarian rulings: In 1992, he ordered an 11th-hour hold on the execution of Robert Alton Harris while Harris was already in the gas chamber.
- Served until 1979, when President Jimmy Carter nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
- His judicial career began in 1965 on the Los Angeles Municipal Court, followed by the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1966.
- Private practice, Van Nuys, CA, 1953-1965
- Private practice, Los Angeles, CA, 1951-1953
- After the war, he obtained a B.A. from UCLA (1947) and an LL.B. from UC Berkeley Law (1950).
- U.S. Marine Corps first lieutenant, 1944-1946
- Harry Pregerson was born October 13, 1923, in Los Angeles, California, to Jewish immigrant parents from Ukraine.
- Date of birth: 1923-01-01
- A U.S. Marine Corps first lieutenant in World War II, he was severely wounded at the Battle of Okinawa.
- Public access: He once opened courthouse doors to homeless people sleeping outside, later helping establish shelters in Los Angeles.
- Fellow judges and colleagues described him as “a man of principle, enormous compassion, and indefatigable energy”.
- Theodore Roosevelt High School
- In summary, Harry Pregerson’s legacy is defined by his unwavering belief that law should serve people’s real lives, not just abstract principles — a philosophy that made him one of the most distinctive and admired judges in U.S. history.
- Pregerson was married to Bernardine Pregerson and had two children, Dean and Katie.
- Birth place: Los Angeles, CA

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2621/harry-pregerson/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2621/harry-pregerson/)
- [Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2621/harry-pregerson/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2621/harry-pregerson/)
- [Pregerson, Harry | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/pregerson-harry)
- [Wikidata: Harry Pregerson](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14594645)

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