[citation needed] After graduating from Venice High School in 1946, Rafeedie traveled the carnival circuit with a portable electric horse-race game called Derby.
He then attended Santa Monica College from 1954 to 1955 and University of Southern California Law Center, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957 and a Juris Doctor in 1959.
[1] Rafeedie's most controversial case was in 1990, when he ruled that the kidnapping of Dr. Humberto Alvarez Machain was illegal and ordered his repatriation to Mexico.
He commented after the ruling that "``There has to be stronger evidence than you have offered to find that a man is guilty of kidnapping, murder and torture,`` Rafeedie told prosecutors.
However, the United States Supreme Court later overruled his decision, holding that the extradition treaty did not prohibit kidnapping.