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' he'll be sorely missed ....<br><br>
At 09:14 AM 9/1/2011, Tom Stokely wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><font face="Calibri">
<a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/08/31/2520174/federal-judge-who-handled-smelt.html">
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/08/31/2520174/federal-judge-who-handled-smelt.html</a>
<br>
</font><font face="Calibri" size=7><b>Wanger to retire after 2 decades on
federal bench <br>
</b></font><font face="Calibri"><br>
<br>
<b>Posted at 10:10 PM on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011<br>
</b> <br>
By John Ellis / The Fresno Bee <br>
<br>
<br>
<br><br>
Oliver W. Wanger, the often larger-than-life federal judge who has
presided over some of this region's most high-profile cases, is stepping
down after two decades.<br><br>
Wanger, 70, is taking the rare step of leaving the bench and returning to
private practice. His last day at Fresno's federal courthouse is Sept.
30, a Friday. The following Monday, he'll hang out his shingle as a
partner at the newly created firm of Wanger Jones Helsley.<br><br>
"I am going to be a lawyer," Wanger said. "I'm going back
to the other side of the bench." <br>
<br><br>
Wanger said he's frustrated by the Fresno court's growing caseload
and Congress's unwillingness to add judges here.<br><br>
Wanger – who sent his resignation letter Wednesday to Anthony W. Ishii,
the chief judge for California's eastern federal judicial district –
plans to be much more than a trial lawyer.<br><br>
The notorious workaholic still plans to offer his services as a defense
attorney, but he also plans to teach, advise trial lawyers and local
governments, and be an expert witness. He also will hear civil cases as a
private judge.<br><br>
And he no longer expects to be addressed as "Judge Wanger."
Instead, he'll once again be "Ollie Wanger."<br><br>
Wanger's resignation letter says his "intent was lifetime
service."<br><br>
Five years ago, he took "senior status," a change that could
allow him to move into semiretirement, reduce his caseload and keep his
existing salary. The move also allowed Congress to appoint someone to
fill his former slot as a full-time jurist. <br><br>
But instead of moving into semiretirement, he kept his entire caseload.
And as his caseload grew even more, he became increasingly frustrated
that Congress wouldn't create more judgeships.<br><br>
On Wednesday, he also hinted that compensation is an issue, though he
added he was "not complaining in light of what everybody else in our
society is going through."<br><br>
District court judges, who have lifetime appointments, earn $174,000
annually. But Wanger said raises have been nonexistent and cost-of-living
adjustments have been sparing. <br><br>
Wanger's departure will be felt at Fresno's federal courthouse, observers
say.<br><br>
"It's a huge loss of institutional knowledge – and also the loss of
his work ethic," said Carl Faller, a local defense attorney who
formerly worked as a federal prosecutor. "I think it will be very
tough on the judges that remain to pick up the slack for someone who has
been a massive part of that bench for so many years."<br><br>
Wanger, for instance, has been the main judge overseeing the ongoing
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water wars between farmers and other water
users and environmentalists. In the middle are the delta smelt and
endangered salmon – as well as reams of complicated state and federal
water law.<br><br>
Ishii said Wanger "was unmatched in his passion for justice,
fairness and upholding the rule of law."<br><br>
Then there's the caseload. Wanger's 1,200 cases will have to be split
between Lawrence J. O'Neill and Ishii, who are Fresno's two remaining
judges. <br><br>
<b>Two decades of service<br>
</b>Wanger, a Republican, was nominated in 1991 by then-President George
H.W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the Senate. <br><br>
A native of Los Angeles, Wanger earned a law degree at the University of
California at Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law.<br><br>
In 1967, he came to Fresno as a deputy district attorney. He eventually
left for private practice. When he was nominated to the federal bench, he
was a partner at McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth, one
of the city's most prominent law firms.<br><br>
As a judge, Wanger has overseen some of Fresno's most celebrated cases,
including the Operation Rezone political corruption cases in the 1990s
and, more recently, a lawsuit brought by nine homeless residents in
Fresno who said the city destroyed their personal property without giving
them a chance to reclaim the items. Wanger ruled in favor of the
homeless. <br><br>
<b>A battle of wills<br>
</b>It was the latter case that helped spark a public feud between Wanger
and then-Fresno Mayor Alan Autry, who said the judge should "enter
the real world and find out the real truth." <br><br>
At one point, Wanger ordered Autry into his court, saying the mayor had
challenged "the integrity of the United States Court."<br><br>
Wanger has sometimes gone to great lengths to explain decisions and the
law behind them.<br><br>
He appeared before farmers – some of them hostile over his smelt and
salmon decisions – to explain water law at a Madera County Farm Bureau
meeting.<br><br>
"He is a natural teacher and a tireless worker with the goal of
justice always at the forefront of everything he has ever touched,"
said O'Neill. <br>
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