Contents

Howard Matz

American judge

A. Howard Matz
circa 2012
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office July 11, 2011 – April 1, 2013
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office June 29, 1998 – July 11, 2011
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Harry Lindley Hupp
Succeeded by	Michael W. Fitzgerald
Personal details
Born	(1943-08-03) August 3, 1943 (age 80) Brooklyn, New York
Education	Columbia University (AB) Harvard Law School (JD)

Alvin Howard Matz (born August 3, 1943)^[1] is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Education and career[edit]

Matz was born in Brooklyn, New York. He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Columbia University in 1965 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1968.^[2] Matz clerked for Judge Morris E. Lasker of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and was in private practice in New York from 1970 to 1972. Matz moved to Los Angeles with the law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, where he worked from 1972 to 1974. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California from 1974 to 1978, and was Chief of the Special Prosecutions unit from 1977 to 1978, when he left to return to Hughes Hubbard as a partner.

Federal judicial service[edit]

On October 27, 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated Matz to a seat on the Central District of California vacated by Harry Lindley Hupp. Matz was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on June 26, 1998, and received his commission on June 29, 1998. He assumed senior status on July 11, 2011, and retired on April 1, 2013.

Notable rulings[edit]

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve itbyverifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (July 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Matz presided over the first legal challenge to the U.S. government's treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees in a habeas corpus petition brought by a civil rights group seeking relief for the detainees.^{[citation needed]}
• Matz was the judge in Perfect 10 v. Google, Inc., a copyright case in which Perfect 10 sued Google for displaying thumbnail-sized reproductions of its images. Matz rejected Google's fair use defense, distinguishing Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corporation. The Ninth Circuit reversed in Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc..

See also[edit]

• List of Jewish American jurists

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Howard Matz at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Judge's Procedures and Schedules