Stephen Reinhardt, liberal circuit court judge, dies at 87

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Judge Stephen Reinhardt, a liberal stalwart on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, has died in Los Angeles. He was 87.

Court spokesman David Madden says Reinhardt died Thursday of a heart attack during a visit to a dermatologist.

9th Circuit Chief Judge Sidney Thomas called Reinhardt a deeply principled jurist who will be remembered as one of the giants of the federal bench.

He was appointed by President Carter in 1979 and went on to become the sixth longest-serving judge on the court.

Reinhardt made headlines last year after he took a swipe at President Trump’s immigration policies, writing in an opinion that an administration order to deport a man was “inhumane.”

Reinhardt was married to Ramona Ripston, former director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.