Richard Paul Matsch (June 8, 1930 – May 26, 2019) was an American judge who served as

Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

Education and career

Matsch was born in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States ...

and graduated from Burlington High School. He earned his

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1951, and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

in 1953. He was admitted to the Iowa bar in July 1953. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

from 1953 to 1955, where he performed

counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ...

duties in Korea after hostilities ended. In June 1955, he was a private first class. He was an attorney in private practice in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

from 1956 to 1959. He was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal go ...

of the

District of Colorado The United States District Court for the District of Colorado (in case citations, D. Colo. or D. Col.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are ...

from 1959 to 1961. He was a deputy

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city att ...

of City and County of Denver, Colorado from 1961 to 1963. He was in private practice in Denver from 1963 to 1965. He was a

Referee in Bankruptcy A Referee in Bankruptcy or Bankruptcy Referee was a federal official with quasi-judicial powers, appointed by a United States district court to administer bankruptcy proceedings, prior to 1979. The office was first created by the Bankruptcy Act of ...

for the District of Colorado from 1965 to 1973, and thereafter served as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Colorado from 1973 to 1974.

Federal judicial service

Matsch was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on January 31, 1974, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado vacated by Judge

Olin Hatfield Chilson Olin Hatfield "Chilly" Chilson (November 22, 1903 – September 28, 1991) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Education and career Born on November 22, 1903, in Pueblo, Colorado, ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

on March 1, 1974, and received his commission on March 8, 1974. He served as Chief Judge from 1994 to 2000. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on July 1, 2003.

Notable cases

Matsch presided over the trial of

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and T ...

defendants

Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third ...

and

Terry Nichols Terry Lynn Nichols (born April 1, 1955) is an American domestic terrorist who was convicted of being an accomplice in the Oklahoma City bombing. Prior to his incarceration, he held a variety of short-term jobs, working as a farmer, grain elevato ...

. Matsch was also judge in a lawsuit (Phillips et al. vs. Lucky Gunner) in Denver where Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, whose daughter, Jessica Ghawi, was one of 12 people killed in the

2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film ''The Dark Knight Rises''. Dressed in tactical clothing, James Holmes set off tear gas g ...

. Matsch dismissed the case and ordered that Sandy and Lonnie Phillips pay $220,000 in legal costs.

References

Sources

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Honorable Richard P. MatschDistrict of Colorado
*
"Program Celebrating the Life and Career of US District Judge Richard P. Matsch (1930-2019)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsch, Richard Paul 1930 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Burlington, Iowa Judges of the United States bankruptcy courts United States Army soldiers Assistant United States Attorneys Military personnel from Iowa Lawyers from Denver