Los Angeles County (Monterey Park)
Career Highlights: Appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown, Nov. 2, 2017; directing attorney, Children's Rights Project, Los Angeles, 2011-17; writ attorney/supervising attorney, Children's Law Center, Monterey Park, 2005-11; director, USC Law School of Domestic Violence Clinic and assistant clinical law professor, Los Angeles, 2004-05; attorney, ACLU of Southern California, Los Angeles, 2000-04; staff attorney, National Center for Youth Law, Oakland, 1998-00, 1991-95; director of Family Advocacy Program, Stanford Law School, Palo Alto, 1996-98; staff attorney, Legal Services for Children, San Francisco, 1990-91; law clerk, Justice Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court, 1989-90; law clerk, Judge (now Justice) Stephen Breyer, First Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals, 1988-89; law clerk, Judge (now Senior Judge) Thelton Henderson, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1987-88.
Law School: UC Berkeley School of Law, 1987
Career Highlights: Appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown, Nov. 2, 2017; directing attorney, Children's Rights Project, Los Angeles, 2011-17; writ attorney/supervising attorney, Children's Law Center, Monterey Park, 2005-11; director, USC Law School of Domestic Violence Clinic and assistant clinical law professor, Los Angeles, 2004-05; attorney, ACLU of Southern California, Los Angeles, 2000-04; staff attorney, National Center for Youth Law, Oakland, 1998-00, 1991-95; director of Family Advocacy Program, Stanford Law School, Palo Alto, 1996-98; staff attorney, Legal Services for Children, San Francisco, 1990-91; law clerk, Justice Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court, 1989-90; law clerk, Judge (now Justice) Stephen Breyer, First Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals, 1988-89; law clerk, Judge (now Senior Judge) Thelton Henderson, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1987-88.
Law School: UC Berkeley School of Law, 1987
MONTEREY PARK — The phrase “best interest of the child” is a common saying in juvenile court, but Judge Martha Matthews said she wants to push back against that adage.
Hoisting the hefty California welfare and institutions codebook over one shoulder, the judge said other states operate with a much more vague understanding of the phrase.
“One of the things California has done — that I’m... (continued)
