Ira Kenneth Reiner (born February 15, 1936) is an American attorney and politician who served as the

Los Angeles City Attorney The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected official who serves as the City of Los Angeles' government's lawyer and as a criminal prosecutor for misdemeanor offenses only. The City Attorney is elected for four years, and the City Charter requires ...

from 1981 to 1984 and

Los Angeles County District Attorney The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutor, prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is Nathan Hochma ...

from 1984 to 1992. The McMartin preschool trial occurred during his tenure as DA.

Education

Reiner earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Southwestern Law School Southwestern Law School is a Private university, private Law school in the United States, law school in Los Angeles, California. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks ...

in 1964.

Career

From February 6 to July 17, 1970, Ira Reiner represented

Leslie Van Houten Leslie Louise Van Houten (born August 23, 1949) is an American convicted murderer and former member of the Manson Family. During her time with Manson's group, she was known by aliases such as Louella Alexandria, Leslie Marie Sankston, Linda Sue O ...

in the Tate-LaBianca murder trials. He was dismissed, and replaced by Ronald Hughes. He was the

Los Angeles city controller The Los Angeles City Controller is an official in the government of the city of Los Angeles, California. The city controller is the paymaster and chief accounting officer of the city. Along with the Mayor of Los Angeles, mayor and the Los Angeles ...

from 1977 to 1981, and was the

Los Angeles city attorney The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected official who serves as the City of Los Angeles' government's lawyer and as a criminal prosecutor for misdemeanor offenses only. The City Attorney is elected for four years, and the City Charter requires ...

from 1981 to 1984, both times being succeeded by James Hahn. He was the

from 1984 to 1992. As district attorney, he supervised the prosecution of several notorious cases, including the murder trial of Richard Ramírez, the widely publicized police arrest of

Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was a Black American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by Police officer, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high spe ...

, and the McMartin preschool trial, the best known case of day care sex abuse hysteria. In 1990, Reiner was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for

California attorney general The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The ...

, losing to San Francisco District Attorney Arlo Smith, who in turn was defeated by Republican former Congressman

Dan Lungren Daniel Edward Lungren (born September 22, 1946) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and former politician. A native of Long Beach, California, his career as an elected official began when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives ...

. In 1992, Reiner sought re-election as district attorney, but trailed

Gil Garcetti Gilbert Salvador Iberri Garcetti (born August 5, 1941) is an American politician and lawyer. He served as Los Angeles County's 40th district attorney for two terms, from 1992 until November 7, 2000. He is the father of former U.S. Ambassador to ...

in the June non-partisan primary. Initially Reiner stayed in the race, but in September he dropped out. After retirement from office he entered private practice with the firm Riley and Reiner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reiner, Ira 1936 births Living people California Democrats District attorneys in California Los Angeles city attorneys Los Angeles city controllers Southwestern Law School alumni University of Southern California alumni Jewish American people in California politics 21st-century American Jews

Education

Career

See also

References