Robert Gary Klausner (born August 4, 1941) is a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
.
Early life and education
Klausner was born in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, in 1941.
[Biography](_blank)
from the ''Biographical Directory of Federal Judges
The ''Biographical Directory of Federal Judges'' is a publication of the Federal Judicial Center providing basic biographical information on all past and present United States federal court Article III judges (those federal judges with life tenure ...
'' of the Federal Judicial Center
The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
According to , the main areas of respo ...
. He graduated from
Loyola High School.
[Kenneth Ofgang]
Senate Confirms R. Gary Klausner as Judge of U.S. District Court
''Metropolitan News-Enterprise'' (November 18, 2002). He received a
Bachelor of Arts
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 (1963) and
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree (1964) from the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
.
He received 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 law ...
from
Loyola Law School
Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920.
Academics
Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...
in 1967.
Military and state judicial career
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, cla ...
from 1967 to 1969,
serving during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
as a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
.
He then was a deputy district attorney in the
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office from 1969 to 1974.
He served as a court commissioner of the
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
Municipal Court from 1974 to 1980.
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
appointed him as a judge on the Pasadena Municipal Court in 1980. In 1985, Governor
George Deukmejian
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (;
June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also serve ...
elevated Klausner to the
Los Angeles Superior Court
The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
The ...
bench, where he served until 2002.
Klausner became supervising judge of the Criminal Departments in 1991 and assistant presiding judge in 1993; he was presiding judge from 1995 to 1996.
In this role, Klausner opposed a merger of the municipal and superior courts.
[David Rosenweig]
2 L.A. Superior Court Judges Picked for U.S. Court
''Los Angeles Times'' (July 23, 2002).
Federal judicial service
Klausner was nominated by President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on July 18, 2002, to be a Judge of the
to the seat vacated by
William Duffy Keller
William Duffy Keller (born October 29, 1934) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Education and career
Born in Los Angeles, California, Keller received a Bachelor o ...
.
Klausner, a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, was recommended for the post by a unanimous vote of a local bipartisan committee that screens potential judicial nominees, and his nomination was uncontroversial.
Klausner was rated "well qualified" by a substantial majority of the
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
's
Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academ ...
. 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 pow ...
on November 14, 2002, by
voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
, and received his commission the following day.
Notable rulings
In 2006, Klausner presided over ''
United States v. Ancheta'', the federal prosecution of
Jeanson James Ancheta
On May 9, 2006, Jeanson James Ancheta (born April 26, 1985) became the first person to be charged for controlling large numbers of hijacked computers or botnets.
Biography
Ancheta was going to Downey High School in Downey, California until 2001 ...
of
Downey, California
Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of ...
, the first
botnet
A botnet is a group of Internet-connected devices, each of which runs one or more bots. Botnets can be used to perform Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, steal data, send spam, and allow the attacker to access the device and its conn ...
-related prosecution in U.S history. Following Ancheta's guilty plea, Klausner sentenced Ancheta to 57 months in prison for various botnet-related crimes. In 2016, Klausner presided over a copyright case filed by the estate of
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
guitarist
Randy Wolfe against
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
founders
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...
and
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
. The estate of Wolfe alleged that Wolfe was entitled to a writing credit for the song "
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...
"; Klausner ruled in April 2016 that a jury could find "
substantial similarity" between the elements of the two songs. In another copyright case arising from the ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' fan film ''
Prelude to Axanar
''Prelude to Axanar'' (working title: ''Star Trek: Prelude to Axanar'', and long title: ''The Four Years War Part III: Prelude to Axanar'') is a 2014 fan-made short film, directed by Christian Gossett and written by Gossett and Alec Peters. Fun ...
'', Klausner rejected various motions by both parties in January 2017, setting the stage for a civil trial on the matter to go forward. The parties settled the suit. In August 2017, Klausner dismissed a
class-action lawsuit
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...
filed by boxing fans who contended that the 2015
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, billed as the ''Fight of the Century'' or the ''Battle for Greatness'', was a professional boxing superfight between undefeated five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and eight-division worl ...
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. In October 2017, Klausner ruled in favor of the plaintiff
Coachella Music Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert ...
in a lawsuit against the fledgling "Filmchella" film festival, finding that the names were likely to cause consumer confusion.
On May 1, 2020, Klausner rejected a lawsuit by the
United States women's national soccer team
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...
's for equal pay, ruling there was no genuine issue of material fact that they were discriminated against in pay.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klausner, R. Gary
1941 births
Living people
California state court judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush
21st-century American judges
United States Army officers
University of Notre Dame alumni
Loyola Law School alumni
Superior court judges in the United States