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Conservative Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall Dies At 82

PASADENA (AP) — Cynthia Holcomb Hall, a federal appeals court judge whose rulings frequently took a conservative view, has died in Pasadena. She was 82.

The Los Angeles Times says Hall died Saturday at her home from cancer.

Hall was appointed to the U.S. Tax Court in 1972. In the 1980s, she was appointed to the U.S. District Court and then to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Though semi-retired in 1997, she continued to hear some cases.

Hall often took a conservative tack. She dissented in 2003 when the court majority reinstated a lawsuit against gun manufacturers in a Los Angeles hate crime.

However, she voted with the majority in a 2006 ruling that upheld the right of an Alaskan high schooler to display a banner reading: "Bong Hits 4 Jesus."

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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