Judge A. Howard Matz

Debra Wong Yang, Alex Kozinski and A. Howard Matz served together on the Board of Governors for the Association of Business Trial Lawyers. All of them were later involved in different aspects of the malicious prosecutions and false imprisonments of whistleblower Juia Davis and her husband BJ Davis, stemming from unlawful retaliatory activities perpetrated by the Department of Homeland Security under directives of the former CBP Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. Debra Wong Yang prosecuted the Davises, Matz presided over their criminal and civil proceedings and repeatedly refused to recuse himself (in spite of numerous motions pointing out his close ties to Robert Bonner) and Alex Kozinski claimed that there was no evidence of Matz' connection to Bonner and imposed a $1,000.00 dollar fine against BJ Davis for filing a complaint of judicial misconduct against Judge A. Howard Matz.

BIOGRAPHY OF JUDGE A. HOWARD MATZ

Alvin Howard Matz aka A. Howard Matz was born 1943 in Brooklyn, NY

Education:

Columbia University, A.B., 1965
Harvard Law School, J.D., 1968

Federal Judicial Service:

Judge, U. S. District Court, Central District of California

Since 1992, A. Howard Matz made numerous political contributions to Barbara Boxer's run for Senate and Clinton presidential campaigns. Alvin Matz and Kermit Lipez were nominated by William J. Clinton on October 20, 1997, on the recommendation of U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Matz was appointed to a seat vacated by Harry L. Hupp; he was confirmed by the Senate on June 26, 1998, and received his commission on June 29, 1998 with 85-0 votes (15 did not vote).

Matz' judicial nomination was endorsed by his close friend Robert C. Bonner (former Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a colleague and a friend of Matz since their service as Assistant US Attorneys in the Special Prosecutions Unit in 1970's). U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson, who headed the fraud and special-prosecutions section where Matz and Bonner also worked, says those were the golden days. The fraternity among the men in the unit - and they were all men - was unparalleled. "It was a very collegial atmosphere," recalls Wilson. "We'd work late at night and go out to dinner at the cafeteria in the police building down the street. Then we'd go back to the office and work some more. Friday nights, we'd go with Rob Bonner [then the U.S. attorney and later the head of the U.S. Customs Service] to Chinatown and have a meal, have some fun and talk about each other's cases. We were all young guys then, and there was a kind of closeness that comes with a relatively small group of people."

Judge A. Howard Matz and former CBP Commissioner Robert Bonner maintained that closeness through the years. In 1993 they worked together at the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where nowadays Bonner is a partner (working alongside former US Attorney Debra Wong Yang). Judge A. Howard Matz’ ties to the US Attorney’s Office run deep. His son, Jeremy Matz, is a US Attorney for the Criminal Division in the Central District of California. A. Howard Matz received awards and other distinctions from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Bonner endorsed Matz’ judicial nomination, writing to the Chairman Hatch that he (Bonner) has known Matz for nearly 25 years, having served side-by-side as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's office in the Central District of California. Bonner writes, "Howard Matz possesses those attributes of character, knowledge and intellect that convince me that he will be an outstanding federal district judge. On a personal note, and on an issue of concern to both of us, not only do I know Howard well, but I believe that, if appointed, he will not be an activist jurist.''

Alvin Howard Matz Political Contributions:

Alvin Howard Matz (Bird, Marella Boxer Wolpert & Matz) $250 to Clinton For President Inc on January 16, 1992
Alvin Howard Matz (Bird Marella Boxer Et Al) $1,000 to Barbara Boxer, Barbara Boxer For U S Senate from September 4, 1992 to October 22, 1992
Alvin Howard Matz (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher) $250 To Lieberman '94 Committee on 06/28/93
Alvin Howard Matz (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher) $500 to Joseph Lieberman, Friends Of Joe Lieberman from June 28, 1993 to December 28, 1993
Alvin Howard Matz (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher) $750 to Joseph Lieberman, Friends Of Joe Lieberman on December 28, 1993

Alex Kozinski is a Chief Judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, who is affiliated with A. Howard Matz through their joint participation in Bet Tzedek. LA Times reported that Kozinski's personal website featured photos of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows, suggestive images of bestiality, images of women shaving their pubic hair, masturbation, public sex, contortionist sex, themes of defecation and urination. The same Judge presided over an obscenity trial (the Issacs trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles), from which Kozinski later recused himself. The panel of judges declared that Kozinski was "careless" and "judicially imprudent" in hosting a site that could, in fact, be accessed by the public. Kozinski was reprimanded but not disciplined. In spite of his relationship with Judge Matz, Kozinski reviewed complaints of judicial misconduct against Matz made by BJ Davis, dismissed them and imposed a $1,000.00 dollar fine against Davis for complaining about Matz. This ruling is pending a petition for review.

Debra Wong Yang is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Los Angeles office, where Robert Bonner is also a partner and Judge A. Howard Matz previously worked. Debra Wong Yang was heading the US Attorney's Office that led the malicious prosecution in the Davis case, spearheaded by the agents of the Department of Homeland Security. This prosecution was initiated in retaliation for Julia Davis' whistleblowing disclosure that prompted an inquiry by the LA Times to Commissioner Bonner, who at the time was heading the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.
Judge Matz' son, Jeremy Matz, is a prosecutor within the Criminal Division of the CDC - the same US Attorney's Office that pursued the Davis' case. Senator Dianne Feinstein led an inquiry into Wong Yang's highly suspicious departure from the US Attorney's Office and a $1.5 million signing bonus for Wong Yang to become a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

In his brilliant exposé, “CONSTITUTIONAL CHAOS: What Happens When The Government Breaks Its Own Laws”, Judge Andrew Napolitano discusses unconstitutional rulings by Judge Matz in the Guantanamo case.

In 2002, a group of law and journalism professors, rabbis, ministers, and a former US Attorney General requested habeas corpus relief on behalf of all detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay. Matz dismissed the application on procedural grounds, ruling that the applicants had no right to commence a lawsuit – because none of them had a “significant relationship with the detainees.” Matz equated plaintiffs to “uninvited meddlers”, stating that there was “[no] evidence that they’re welcome”. In the mean time, the detainees were denied the opportunity to consult with anyone – lawyers, family members or clergy – conveniently depriving them of any chance to show whether petitions on their behalf were or were not “welcome”. The group later re-filed a petition to include the brother of a detainee, who obviously had standing to act on his behalf.

Judge Napolitano writes, “Judge Howard Matz - the same judge who came up with the “not welcome” ruling – again dismissed the action, finding another means of circumventing the Constitution in order to allow the government to violate the Camp Delta detainees’ due process protections.” As Judge Napolitano points out, Matz did nothing “to defend the Constitution rather than sit back and let the government have unlimited wartime powers.” In a victory for the Constitution, the Supreme Court overturned Matz’ decision, ruling that Guantanamo detainees were guaranteed habeas corpus due process rights and were entitled to their day in federal court.