obert Takasugi was twelve when his family became a part of the 1942 forced disposession of Japanese Americans known as Executive Order 9066. Takasugi has never forgotten the racial bias nor the constitutional outrage that underlay those three years of his life. As Senior Judge of the Central District of California, Takasugi has bucked public opinion throughout his 28-years on the Federal bench by being a fearless defender of constitutional protection for disfavored minorities. One recent example was his 2002 dismissal of terrorism charges against a group of Iranians accused of using fraudulent means to raise money to fund terrorist activities. He has also earned bipartisan respect for his zealous enforcement of fair trial procedures.