R. Gary Klausner
R. Gary Klausner | |
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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 (age 76–77) Los Angeles, California |
Education |
University of Notre Dame (B.A., B.S.) Loyola Law School (J.D.) |
Robert Gary Klausner (born 1941; commonly referred to as R. Gary Klausner) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Early life and education
Klausner was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1941.[1] He graduated from Loyola High School.[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree (1963) and Bachelor of Science degree (1964) from the University of Notre Dame.[1] He received his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in 1967.[2]
Career
He 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]
Federal district court service
Klausner is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Klausner was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 18, 2002, to a 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 Ancheta of Downey, 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]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Biography from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges of the Federal Judicial Center.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kenneth Ofgang, Senate Confirms R. Gary Klausner as Judge of U.S. District Court, Metropolitan News-Enterprise (November 18, 2002).
- 1 2 David Rosenweig, 2 L.A. Superior Court Judges Picked for U.S. Court, Los Angeles Times (July 23, 2002).
- ↑ Ratings of Article III Judicial Nominees, 107th Congress(2001-2002), American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
- ↑ PN1982 — Robert G. Klausner — The Judiciary, 107th Congress (2001-2002), Congress.gov.
- ↑ "21-year-old hacker sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison". Orange County Register. May 9, 2006.
- ↑ "Stairway to Heaven in copyright trial". BBC News. April 12, 2016.
- ↑ Farivar, Cyrus (January 5, 2017). "Axanar isn't fair use, judge finds, setting stage for Star Trek copyright trial". Ars Technica.
- ↑ Gardner, Eriq (January 4, 2017). "'Star Trek' Fan Film Dispute Goes to Jury Trial in Big Ruling". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ "Paramount, CBS Settle 'Star Trek' Fan Film Lawsuit". 20 January 2017.
- ↑ Ritter, Ken (August 25, 2017). "Judge KO's class-action case from Mayweather-Pacquiao fight". Associated Press.
- ↑ Chapple, Jon (October 12, 2017). "Court sides with Coachella in Filmchella dispute". IQ Magazine.
External links
- R. Gary Klausner at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Legal offices | ||
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Preceded by William Duffy Keller |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California 2002–present |
Incumbent |