Alvin Howard Matz (born August 3, 1943) is a former
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
of the
.
Education and career
Matz was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. He received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1965 and a
Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
in 1968.
Matz
clerked for Judge
Morris E. Lasker of the
, and was in
private practice in New York from 1970 to 1972. Matz moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of 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
On October 27, 1997,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
nominated Matz to a seat on the Central District of California vacated by
Harry Lindley Hupp. Matz was unanimously
confirmed by the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
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
* Matz presided over the first legal challenge to the U.S. government's treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees in a
habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
petition brought by a
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
group seeking relief for the detainees.
* Matz was the judge in ''
Perfect 10 v. Google, Inc.'', a
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
case in which
Perfect 10 sued Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
for displaying thumbnail-sized reproductions of its images. Matz rejected Google's
fair use
Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...
defense, distinguishing ''
Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corporation''. The Ninth Circuit reversed in ''
Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc.
''Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc.'', 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir., 2007) was a case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit involving a copyright infringement claim against Amazon.com, Amazon.com, Inc. and Google, Google, Inc ...
''.
See also
*
List of Jewish American jurists
This is a list of notable Jewish American jurists. For other famous Jewish Americans, see Lists of American Jews.
Supreme Court of the United States
United States courts of appeals
United States district courts
* Ronnie Abrams, J ...
References
External links
*
Judge's Procedures and Schedules
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matz, Howard
1943 births
Living people
Assistant United States attorneys
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Lawyers from Brooklyn
United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges