Judge Richard Matsch, who died on May 26 at the age of 88, is best known for having overseen the Oklahoma City bombing trial of Timothy McVeigh. But that’s only part of his legacy. Matsch, who served as chief judge for the U.S. District Court in Colorado from 1994 to 2000 and remained on the bench until earlier this year under senior status, was one of the most powerful jurists in the state for decades, as evidenced by his frequent mentions in Westword.
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Among the most contentious of Matsch’s rulings in recent years was his conclusion that Colorado’s sex-offender registry violated the due-process rights of three plaintiffs — a decision that prompted Montrose County to take its registry offline for fear that making it available might lead to future litigation.
This call may seem surprising, considering that Matsch was nobody’s idea of a screaming liberal; note that he was appointed to the federal bench by President Richard Nixon way back in 1974. But he had the courage of his convictions, and that earned him the respect of colleagues whether they agreed with him or not.
Related links:
What You Think You Know About Sex Offenders Is Wrong, Attorney Says [westword.com – 9/6/17]
Oh my! What does this mean? Anything?
RIP, Judge Matsch, and thank you for impartially viewing evidence and calling it as you saw it. I assume the 10th’s three judge panel votes on the appeal are long cast and we’re just waiting (forever) for the opinion to be written, but I would have loved him to see his ruling upheld. Please, may it be so.
The OMNIBUS94 was a topic on C-SPAN networks Washington Journal. I spent the morning waiting on hold to speak about the Ex post law contained therein. I did not get on the broadcast. Lots of folks calling in discussing facial inequity and mass incarceration but not one mentioned the sex offenders role in that in the rate of growth. Joe Biden himself had gave a speech supporting that OMNIBUS and it reasons and C-Span replayed it. Judge Matsch was very clear about the effect portion ( on human behavior) from the utilization of SOR regime. It merely advanced cruel and unusual attitudes toward each other. I believe Judge Matsch understood law forcing men subservient to machine database, without just cause nor process, an abhorrent affront to humanity. He understood the database regimes impact upon human nature to exclusions based on irrational fear. His ruling IMHO, was a direct indictment of SCOTUS under Rehnquist AND (the U.S. Solicitor Gen.)Judge Roberts ( His leadership) for their input into uphold law contamination given ” was in prison for …A sex crime. “.
RIP Judge Matsch. Lets hope there are many more like you to come into the system.
If you do an online search of Judge Matsch, you will find various stories about him, but the WaPo, NYT, and Denver Post are the best ones with their obits and stories on him as a judge and a person. He truly will be missed as a jurist in our country when we need more like him on the bench.
I will leave you with this from the NYT obit published yesterday, “Judge Matsch was not a joiner of professional groups and not ideological. But he once revealed, in a 1991 speech to the Denver Bar Association, that he did have a hero, even if he had to reach into fiction to find one.
It was Atticus Finch, the righteous lawyer at the heart of Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Finch, the judge said, upheld the highest legal principles no matter how unpopular, and was “the opponent of oppression, the paradigm of propriety, the dean of decent citizens and the core of his community.”
.Mmockingbird was required reading at my H.S. No doubt Finches character was inspiring to the good judge then. It took some courage for him to embrace Kennedy s “change of heart “(NC V Packingham) for what Alito called ” loose rhetoric. ” Affirmative restraint no doubt unreasonable affirmative disability of speech was always at stake in the regime. Alitos’ presumption: If The people come to a realization they cannot do everything to protect kids ,the system failed. He presumes fed concern counts, therefore the day to day lives of the citizens IS a right and propper ” legitimate public interest. ” In other terms Alito disputes Gorsech’s ” Blank check” scenarios in Gundy pleadings.Orwell anyone?
Here is an guest editorial by Judge Matsch’s colleague and friend, Senior US District Judge Kane, US District Court of CO in Denver, about Judge Matsch I believe you all will find interesting. We need more like Judge Matsch in the system and less of what we have to deal with today.
Matsch reverently followed the path of the law
https://gazette.com/opinion/columnists/guest-column-matsch-reverently-followed-the-path-of-the-law/article_192050a0-86d2-11e9-9015-e7d19b16ef11.html