[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7235-S7237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

NOMINATION OF A. HOWARD MATZ, TO BE U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE CENTRAL 
                         DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now 
go into executive session for the consideration of executive calendar 
No. 574, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of A. Howard Matz, to be 
U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am very pleased that the Senate is 
considering today the nomination of A. Howard Matz to be U.S. District 
Judge for the Central District of California.
  With all the support Mr. Matz has from both Democrats and 
Republicans, I know the Senate will agree he is eminently qualified to 
sit on the U.S. District Court for the Central District in California.
  I first recommended Mr. Matz for this seat on the federal bench on 
July 23, 1997, and said then that Howard Matz is an exceptional 
attorney and person. His experience, intelligence, and integrity make 
him extremely well-qualified for the Federal bench.
  Howard Matz is currently a partner in private practice. He represents 
largely business clients in civil and white-collar crime matters. His 
clients have included IBM, Walt Disney Co., the cities of Anaheim and 
Riverside, Yale University and numerous individuals, partnerships, 
lawyers, and law firms. I would like to note here that I am not related 
to Joel Boxer, a partner in Howard's firm.
  Mr. Matz received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University 
and his law degree from Harvard University. In addition to working in 
various law firms, early in his career he clerked for U.S. District 
Court Judge Morris Lasker. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the 
Criminal Division, in charge of the Los Angeles Fraud and Special 
Prosecutions team, he has always believed the punishment should fit the 
crime. Mr. Matz is highly regarded in the legal community, having 
written many articles on legal topics and having served as a speaker 
and panelist on legal matters numerous times. He has received many 
awards and other distinctions from representatives of the Securities 
and Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
Department of Health and Human Services, and the Internal Revenue 
Service for cases he handled as a prosecutor.
  Complementing his exceptional legal career, Matz also engages 
regularly in pro bono work and is very active in his

[[Page S7236]]

community. He is on the board of directors of Bet Tzedek, having once 
served as the President of this highly respected provider of legal 
services for the poor. He has also served on the board of the Los 
Angeles Legal Aid Society. He is a member of the Board of Overseers for 
the Los Angeles campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of 
Religion and is one of the founding sponsors of the Skirball Cultural 
Center and Museum.
  Howard Matz has received numerous letters in support of his 
nomination.
  Judge Lourdes G. Baird, was appointed to the U.S. District Court in 
the Central District of California by President Bush. Howard Matz was 
Judge Baird's mentor at the United States Attorney's office when the 
served as Assistant U.S. Attorney together. Judge Baird wrote ``For 
over 20 years I have known Howard Matz well, both professionally and 
socially, and strongly believe that he would be an outstanding federal 
judge if given the opportunity. . . . I am certain that one could find 
very few candidates who could fulfill the demands of this position as 
well as Howard.''
  Sheriff Sherman Block of the County of Los Angeles wrote in a letter 
to Chairman Hatch ``Matz is an extremely hard working individual of 
impeccable character and integrity. His list of credits, both 
professionally and within the community, is extensive. I would like to 
recommend that you favorably consider this appointment. I have no doubt 
that he would be a distinguished addition to the United States District 
Court.''
  Gil Garcetti, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, has known 
Howard Matz for almost 15 years. Gil Garcetti turns down most requests 
of support from those seeking appointments, but for Mr. Matz, he felt 
the need to express his strong support. Garcetti wrote to Chairman 
Hatch ``His unusually diverse background--representing clients in civil 
and criminal litigation, in state court and federal court, as 
plaintiffs and defendants--has given him a view of the judicial process 
which would compel him to exercise his responsibilities as a federal 
judge with restraint. . . . I am confident Howard possesses no other 
agenda than to preside fairly and to rule with due regard for the 
importance of precedent.''
  George O'Connell, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of 
California under President Bush, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney in 
both Los Angeles and Sacramento, wrote ``I can only underscore the I 
think Mr. Matz would make a superb United States District Judge. . . . 
I do not think that he would engage in inappropriate judicial activism. 
Rather, I believe he would make the most sincere efforts to achieve 
justice within the existing framework of the law.''
  Robert Bonner, former U.S. Attorney (Appointed by President Reagan), 
former U.S. District Court Judge in the Central District of California, 
former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (Appointed by 
President Bush), has known Matz for nearly 25 years, and 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 
wrote in a letter to Chairman Hatch that he believes ``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.''

  Harold Blatt, the head of Bryan Cave LLP, sent Senator Ashcroft two 
detailed support letters from California partners of his distinguished 
firm, who know Mr. Matz very well.
  Ronald Olson, a former Iowan and former chair of the American Bar 
Association Federal Judiciary Committee, writes to Senator Grassley 
that he has known Howard for most of his professional life. Olson wrote 
``Howard is a lawyer who understands the limitations of the law as well 
as its possibilities, and I can assure you that he will serve as a 
judicial officer in a way that respects the limited powers of the Court 
and the fundamental roles of the legislative and executive branches.''
  John Fishel, Executive Vice President of the Jewish Federation, wrote 
``Mr. Matz would make an outstanding federal judge and hope that his 
nomination will receive serious consideration.''
  I would like to submit these recommendation letters in full for the 
Record.
  I strongly believe Howard Matz will make an outstanding addition to 
the federal bench. I believe his intelligence, judicial temperament, 
broad experience, professional and community service, and deep 
commitment to justice qualify him to serve on the federal bench with 
great distinction. I am very proud to have had the opportunity to 
recommend him to the President, and hope the Senate will confirm him 
today.
  Mr. HATCH addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I will say one thing. With the approval of 
these two judges, this Republican Congress will have confirmed, during 
the full tenure of President Clinton, 272 Federal judges, following the 
confirmation of these two judges.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we have two separate 
back-to-back votes of 15 minutes each on the two nominations we're 
considering this morning.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on both of the 
nominations.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of A. Howard Matz, to be U.S. District Judge 
for the Central District of California.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Utah (Mr. Bennett), the 
Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kyl), 
the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), the Senator from Delaware (Mr. 
Roth), and the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Stevens) are necessarily 
absent.
  I further announce that the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) is 
absent due to a death in the family.
  I also announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Specter) is 
absent because of illness.
  Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka), the 
Senator from Montana (Mr. Baucus), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Glenn), 
the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Harkin), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. 
Rockefeller), and the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Wellstone) are 
necessarily absent.
  I also announce that the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden), is absent 
due to family illness.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Oregon (Mr. Wyden) and the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Wellstone) would 
each vote ``aye.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 85, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 182 Ex.]

                                YEAS--85

     Abraham
     Allard
     Ashcroft
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coverdell
     Craig
     D'Amato
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Faircloth
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Frist
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kempthorne
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Moseley-Braun
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Robb
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Warner

                             NOT VOTING--15

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Glenn
     Harkin
     Hutchinson
     Inhofe
     Kyl
     McCain

[[Page S7237]]


     Rockefeller
     Roth
     Specter
     Stevens
     Wellstone
     Wyden
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider will be laid upon the table. The President will be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  Mr. LOTT addressed the chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

                          ____________________