Federal judge's financial conflict of interest went unnoticed for years

"A federal judge has issued three key rulings over a four-year period that favored companies in which he owned stock, a California Watch analysis has found."

"Measures are in place to prevent judges from violating federal conflict-of-interest laws. But Judge Manuel Real, a 46-year veteran of the bench appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, appears to have skirted those safeguards, records and interviews show."