SFGATE: Liberal judge who wrote gay marriage decision has died
Liberal judge who wrote gay marriage decision has died" Published on March 30, 2018 at 08:17AM by By Bob Egelko Judge Stephen Reinhardt, a liberal stalwart on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco who wrote the ruling that ultimately legalized same-sex marriage in California, died Thursday. He was 87. Court spokesman David Madden said Reinhardt died suddenly during a medical appointment in his hometown of Los Angeles. “We have lost a wonderful colleague and friend,” said Sidney Thomas, chief judge of the Ninth Circuit, which oversees federal courts in California and eight other Western states. “As a judge, he was deeply principled, fiercely passionate about the law and fearless in his decisions. He will be remembered as one of the giants of the federal bench.