George H. King

George H. King
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office September 14, 2012 – June 30, 2016
Preceded by	Audrey B. Collins
Succeeded by	Virginia A. Phillips
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 1995
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089
Personal details
Born	1951 (age 64–65) Shanghai, China
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles USC Gould School of Law

George Herbert King (born 1951) is a District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Judge King was born in Shanghai, China. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1971 and a J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law in 1974. He was in private practice in Los Angeles, California from 1974 to 1975. He was an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California from 1975 to 1979. Judge King returned to private practice from 1979 to 1986. At the same time, he acted as a hearing examiner for the Los Angeles Police Commission from 1980 to 1982.

In 1987, Judge King became a United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California. On April 27, 1995, President Bill Clinton nominated Judge King to be a District Court Judge for the Central District of California, a new seat created by statute. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 1995, and received his commission the same day. He served as Chief Judge from September 14, 2012 to June 30, 2016.

In perhaps his most famous ruling, Judge King granted summary judgment in the case of Rupa Marya v. Warner/Chappell Music Inc. in favor of the plaintiffs, holding that defendants had no valid copyright in the song Happy Birthday, in a decision filed September 22, 2015.^[1]

Sources

• George H. King at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

References

1. Mai-Duc, Christine (September 23, 2015). "All the 'Happy Birthday' song copyright claims are invalid, federal judge rules". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 23, 2015.