[1] During his time as an attorney, he represented death row inmates pro bono.
[1] Zirpoli broadened the rights of conscientious objector in during the Vietnam War draft, which prompted President Richard Nixon to call him "the worst judge on the Federal Bench.
"[2] During the Zebra murders, over 600 black men were stopped by the police due to the ambiguous descriptors provided by witnesses.
In a motion filed by the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union, Zirpoli ruled that the police's stop and search program was unconstitutional and halted it.
[2][3] He assumed senior status on September 30, 1975, serving in that capacity until his death on July 10, 1995, in San Francisco.