R. Gary Klausner
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circa 2002
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| Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California | |
| Assumed office November 15, 2002 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | William Duffy Keller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Gary Klausner (1941-08-04) August 4, 1941 (age 82) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of Notre Dame (BA, BS) Loyola Law School (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1967–1969 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
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Robert Gary Klausner (born August 4, 1941) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Klausner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1941.[1] He graduated from Loyola High School.[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963 and a Bachelor of Science degree in 1964 from the University of Notre Dame.[1] He received his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in 1967.[2]
Klausner served in the United States Army from 1967 to 1969,[1] serving during the Vietnam War as a captain.[2] He then was a deputy district attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office from 1969 to 1974.[2][1]
He served as a court commissioner of the Pasadena Municipal Court from 1974 to 1980. Governor Jerry Brown appointed him as a judge on the Pasadena Municipal Court in 1980. In 1985, Governor George Deukmejian elevated Klausner to the Los Angeles Superior Court bench, where he served until 2002.[2] Klausner became supervising judge of the Criminal Departments in 1991 and assistant presiding judge in 1993; he was presiding judge from 1995 to 1996.[2] In this role, Klausner opposed a merger of the municipal and superior courts.[3]
Klausner was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 18, 2002, to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California to the seat vacated by William Duffy Keller.[2] Klausner, a Republican, was recommended for the post by a unanimous vote of a local bipartisan committee that screens potential judicial nominees, and his nomination was uncontroversial.[3] Klausner was rated "well qualified" by a substantial majority of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.[4] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 14, 2002, by voice vote,[5] and received his commission the following day.[2]
In 2006, Klausner presided over United States v. Ancheta, the federal prosecution of Jeanson James AnchetaofDowney, California, the first botnet-related prosecution in U.S history. Following Ancheta's guilty plea, Klausner sentenced Ancheta to 57 months in prison for various botnet-related crimes.[6] In 2016, Klausner presided over a copyright case filed by the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe against Led Zeppelin founders Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. The estate of Wolfe alleged that Wolfe was entitled to a writing credit for the song "Stairway to Heaven"; Klausner ruled in April 2016 that a jury could find "substantial similarity" between the elements of the two songs.[7] In another copyright case arising from the Star Trek fan film Prelude to Axanar, Klausner rejected various motions by both parties in January 2017, setting the stage for a civil trial on the matter to go forward.[8][9] The parties settled the suit.[10] In August 2017, Klausner dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed by boxing fans who contended that the 2015 Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao boxing match was deceptively marketed because Pacquiao failed to disclose a shoulder injury that affected his performance. Klausner ruled that fans of sporting events have no right to have the event meet their expectations for excitement.[11] In October 2017, Klausner ruled in favor of the plaintiff Coachella Music Festival in a lawsuit against the fledgling "Filmchella" film festival, finding that the names were likely to cause consumer confusion.[12]
On May 1, 2020, Klausner rejected a lawsuit by the United States women's national soccer team's for equal pay, ruling there was no genuine issue of material fact that they were discriminated against in pay.[13][14][15]
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| Preceded by | Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California 2002–present |
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