View source for Alex Kozinski

{{Short description|American former federal judge (born 1950)}}
{{For multi|the distance runner|Alexandra Kosinski|the writer|Alex Kuczynski}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Alex Kozinski
| image               = Alex Kozinski Photo (cropped).png
| office              = Chief Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]]
| term_start          = December 1, 2007
| term_end            = December 1, 2014
| predecessor         = [[Mary M. Schroeder]]
| successor           = [[Sidney R. Thomas]]
| office1             = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]]
| appointer1          = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| term_start1         = November 7, 1985
| term_end1           = December 18, 2017
| predecessor1        = Seat established
| successor1          = [[Daniel Bress]]
| office2             = Chief Judge of the [[United States Court of Federal Claims|United States Claims Court]]
| term_start2         = October 1, 1982
| term_end2           = February 9, 1985
| predecessor2        = Position established
| successor2          = [[Loren A. Smith]]
| office3             = Judge of the [[United States Court of Federal Claims|United States Claims Court]]
| appointer3          = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| term_start3         = October 1, 1982
| term_end3           = February 9, 1985
| predecessor3        = Seat established
| successor3          = [[Marian Blank Horn]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1950|7|23}}
| birth_place         = [[Bucharest]], [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]]
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| spouse              = Marcy Tiffany
| children            = 3
| education           = [[University of California, Los Angeles]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| caption             = Kozinski in 2024
}}
'''Alex Kozinski''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|z|ɪ|n|s|k|i}}; born July 23, 1950){{r|National Park Service biography}} is a Romanian-American [[jurist]] and lawyer who was a judge on the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] from 1985 to 2017. He was a prominent and influential judge, and many of his [[law clerk]]s went on to clerk for [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] justices. 

Kozinski's judicial career ended in 2017 when he retired after over a dozen of his former female law clerks and legal staffers accused him of [[sexual harassment]] and abusive practices.{{r|Zapotosky (2017)}} Kozinski had previously faced an ethics hearing over inappropriate sexual material.<ref name="latimes.com">{{cite news|first=Scott|last=Glover|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kozinski12-2008jun12,0,6220192.story|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|title=9th Circuit's chief judge posted sexually explicit matter on his website|date=June 11, 2008}}</ref>

==Early life==
Kozinski was born in July 1950 to a [[History of the Jews in Romania|Romanian Jewish]] family in [[Bucharest]], under the rule of the [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romanian People's Republic]].{{r|Bernstein (2015)}} Both of his parents were Holocaust survivors. Kozinski's father, Moses, spent four years in [[Transnistria Governorate|Transnistrian]] concentration camps where tens of thousands of Jews perished. His mother, Sabine, lived through the war years in a Romanian [[ghetto]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pacificcoastimmigration/kozinski.htm |title=Alex Kozinski - Pacific Coast Immigration |publisher=[[National Park Service|U.S. National Park Service]]| website=www.nps.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220132725/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pacificcoastimmigration/kozinski.htm |archive-date=2017-12-20 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1958, Kozinski's parents applied to the Romanian government for permission to emigrate from the country.<ref name="auto"/> They received permission four years later in 1962, when Kozinski was 12 years old. Kozinski, who had grown up as a committed communist in Bucharest, became what he described as "an instant capitalist" when he took his first trip outside of the [[Iron Curtain]], to [[Vienna]], where he partook of such luxuries as chewing gum and bananas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reason.com/reasontv/2013/03/08/judge-alex-kozinski-at-reason-weekend|title=Judge Alex Kozinski: From Communist Romania to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals|website=reason.com|first1=Matt|last1=Welch|first2=Todd|last2=Krainin|date=March 8, 2013|access-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref> Kozinski later recounted:

{{Blockquote
|text= I remember leaving Romania, December 24, 1961. And I still remember being on the train, making plans for myself, how I would to go the West where people were oppressed and I would share my knowledge of Communism and help bring enlightenment by helping to tear down capitalism. ... And the next thing I remember, I was in Vienna, and I got bubblegum and chocolate, which were freely available. It was as though a cloud or veil had lifted. It was such a different world, you had real consumer goods. People weren't running around with shackles. Everything that had been said about the West was untrue. Bananas were plentiful. In Romania, my father used to have to work a half-day to get three bananas. I remember going with my parents to an open-air market in Vienna and seeing all these bananas, cheap, ... and wondering whether they would be there tomorrow. I looked a week later and they were still there. There was no conscious rethinking or recalculating my point of view. I was now an instant and fervent capitalist.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=Jeffrey |title=My Afternoon with Alex: An Interview with Judge Kozinski |journal=Litigation |date=Summer 2004 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=6–20, 74–75|jstor=29760440}}</ref>
}}

Kozinski's family immigrated to the United States in 1962 and settled in the [[Los Feliz]] neighborhood of [[Los Angeles]], where his father ran a small grocery store.

==Education and early career==
Kozinski studied [[economics]] at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], graduating in 1972 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]], ''cum laude''. He then attended the [[UCLA School of Law]], where he was a managing editor of the ''[[UCLA Law Review]]''. He graduated in 1975 with a [[Juris Doctor]] ranked first in his class.

After law school, Kozinski [[law clerk|clerked]] for judge (later [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court justice]]) [[Anthony Kennedy]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] from 1975 to 1976, then for chief justice [[Warren Burger]] of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] from 1976 to 1977. He then entered private practice as an associate with the law firms Forry, Golbert, Singer & Gelles from 1977 to 1979 and [[Covington & Burling]] from 1979 to 1981.<ref>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=42839 Ronald Reagan] The American Presidency Project.</ref> He was a Deputy Legal Counsel of the Office of the President-Elect in Washington, D.C. (1980–81) and an Assistant Counsel for the Office of Counsel to the President in Washington, D.C. (1981). He was a Special Counsel for the [[Merit Systems Protection Board]] in Washington, D.C. (1981–82).<ref name="fjc.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/kozinski-alex|title=Kozinski, Alex - Federal Judicial Center|website=www.fjc.gov}}</ref>

===Office of Special Counsel incident===
While he was in the Office of Special Counsel, despite staff recommendations against termination, Kozinski overruled his staff and then repeatedly tutored Interior Secretary [[James G. Watt]]'s legal staff in how to rewrite the proposed termination of a mining safety [[whistleblower]] so as to pass legal muster. When the incident came to light years later during confirmation hearings for Kozinski's Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals nomination, the scandal drew 43 Senate opposition votes and reportedly subsequently prevented Kozinski's planned promotion to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Daphne|last=Wysham|url=http://www.ips-dc.org/mining_whistleblower_speaks_out_against_massey|title=Mining Whistleblower Speaks Out Against Massey|publisher=[[Institute for Policy Studies]]|date=July 23, 2010|accessdate=March 17, 2016}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=December 2024}}

==Federal judicial service==
Kozinski served as a [[trial judge]] of the [[United States Court of Claims]] in 1982, serving as Chief of Trial Division that year.<ref name="fjc.gov"/>

Kozinski was nominated by President [[Ronald Reagan]] on August 10, 1982, to the [[United States Court of Federal Claims|United States Claims Court]], to a new seat authorized by 96 Stat. 27. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on August 20, 1982, and received commission on October 1, 1982. He served as Chief Judge from 1982 to 1985. His service terminated on February 9, 1985, due to resignation.<ref name="fjc.gov"/>

Kozinski was nominated by President Reagan on June 5, 1985, to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]], to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333.  Before the confirmation vote took place, former employees from Kozinski's time at the Office of Special Counsel warned the Senate that Kozinski was "harsh, cruel, demeaning, sadistic, disingenuous and without compassion."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|first=Chris|last=Chrystal|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/10/31/Senate-panel-to-reopen-Kozinski-hearing/3933499582800/|title=Senate panel to reopen Kozinski hearing|work=[[United Press International]]|date=December 31, 1985|access-date=August 19, 2018|language=en}}</ref> He was nonetheless confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] by a 54–43 vote on November 7, 1985.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Robert L.
|last1=Jackson|first2=Philip|last2=Hager|title=Senate Narrowly Confirms Kozinski as Appeals Judge|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-08-mn-2758-story.html|access-date=August 11, 2014|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=November 8, 1985}}</ref> He received commission the same day.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> At 35, he was the youngest federal Appeals Court judge at the time of appointment.

In 2005, after concluding that the Ninth Circuit insufficiently addressed breaches of judicial conduct by Judge [[Manuel Real]], after rules had been enacted to discourage behavior that would initiate "a substantial and widespread lowering of public confidence in the courts among reasonable people," Kozinski demanded the actual imposition of higher standards, writing,"It does not inspire confidence in the federal judiciary, when we treat our own so much better than we treat everyone else." Kozinski was persuasive and Real's case was reopened and he was disciplined.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-oew-bazelon17-2008jun17-story.html|title=Kozinski disciplines himself|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Lara A.|last=Bazelon|date=June 17, 2008|access-date=December 18, 2017}}</ref>

He served as Chief Judge of the circuit from December 1, 2007, to December 1, 2014.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> In that capacity, he received complaints about Montana Federal Presiding Judge [[Richard F. Cebull]], who had sent hundreds of emails disparaging women, racial minorities and liberal politicians. One joked that President [[Barack Obama]]'s birth was the product of a sexual relationship between Obama's mother and a dog. Kozinski appointed a five-judge panel to review the matter in which he was the chair. It recommended disciplinary measures but not removal; the particulars of the investigation were largely kept confidential, at Kozinski's initiative.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/politics/smutty-racist-e-mails-of-montana-judge-might-be-buried/|title=Smutty, Racist E-Mails of Montana Judge Might Be Buried|newspaper=[[Indian Country Today]]|first=Stephanie|last=Woodard|date=June 26, 2015|accessdate=November 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite court|title=Proceeding in review of the order and memorandum of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit J.C.|opinion=13-01|reporter=U.S.|litigants=COMMITTEE ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND DISABILITY OF THE JUDICIAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES|court=Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit|date=January 14, 2014|url=http://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ccd-13-01order-final-01-17-14.pdf|access-date=November 10, 2017}}</ref>

===Feeder judge===
During his tenure as a court of appeals judge, he became a prominent [[feeder judge]]. Between 2009–13, he placed nine of his clerks with the [[United States Supreme Court]], the fifth most of any judge during that time period.<ref name="stras">{{cite journal|last=Stras|first=David|date=Fall 2014|title=Secret Agents: Using Law Clerks Effectively|journal=[[Marquette Law Review]]|volume=98|page=157|url=http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol98/iss1/10/}}</ref> He was particularly successful placing his clerks with Justice [[Anthony Kennedy]], for whom he had himself clerked.<ref name="baum">{{cite journal|last1=Baum|first1=Lawrence|first2=Cory|last2=Ditslear|date=March 2010|title=Supreme Court Clerkships and "Feeder" Judges|journal=Justice System Journal|publisher=[[National Center for State Courts]]|volume=31|issue=1|pages=41–42|url=http://www.ncsc.org/Publications/Justice-System-Journal/~/media/Files/PDF/Publications/Justice%20System%20Journal/SUPREME%20COURT%20CLERKSHIPS.ashx|archive-date=July 10, 2015|access-date=July 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710003054/http://www.ncsc.org/Publications/Justice-System-Journal/~/media/Files/PDF/Publications/Justice%20System%20Journal/SUPREME%20COURT%20CLERKSHIPS.ashx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Defense of Ninth Circuit===
In the 2000s, while defending the Ninth Circuit against criticism because of a recent controversial decision, ''[[Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow]]'', Kozinski, who had not been part of the case, emphasized judicial independence: "It seems to me that this is what makes this country truly great—that we can have a judiciary where the person who appoints you doesn't own you."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june05/controversial_1-17.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050126025844/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june05/controversial_1-17.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 26, 2005|title=Online NewsHour: Debate Brews over Splitting 9th Circuit Court – January 17, 2005<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=[[PBS]]}}</ref> He also took a stand against the charge that the Ninth Circuit is overly [[liberalism|liberal]]: "I can say with some confidence that cries that the Ninth Circuit is so liberal are just simply misplaced."<ref name="michaels2005">Michaels, Spencer (January 17, 2005). [https://web.archive.org/web/20050126025844/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june05/controversial_1-17.html Controversial Court.] NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.</ref>

On November 30, 2007, he became the tenth Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit.<ref>[http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/Documents.nsf/54dbe3fb372dcb6c88256ce50065fcb8/b03ff8c272da7706882573380071ee8b/$FILE/gavelpassing.pdf ''Gavel Passing to Mark Changing of the Guard for Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals''], United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit Public Information Office news release, November 23, 2007.</ref> His term as chief judge ended on December 1, 2014, when he was succeeded by Judge [[Sidney R. Thomas]].<ref>[http://www.chron.com/news/article/Judge-from-Billings-to-lead-federal-appeals-court-5912739.php "Judge from Billings to Lead Federal Appeals Court"], ''Houston Chronicle'', November 23, 2014.</ref>

===Death penalty===
In an interview on [[CBS]]'s ''[[60 Minutes]]'' in April 2017, Kozinski talked about his support for the death penalty, but with the reservation that death by [[lethal injection]] should no longer be used, calling it "a way of lying to ourselves, to make it look like executions are peaceful, benign". He instead advocated the use of the [[guillotine]] or [[Execution by firing squad|firing squad]], saying these methods are "100 percent effective" and cause "no doubt that what we are doing is a violent thing".<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-alex-kozinski-9th-circuit-court-of-appeals/|title = Judge Alex Kozinski thinks lethal drugs sugarcoat death penalty|date = April 20, 2017|access-date = January 9, 2025|work = [[CBS News]]}}</ref>

==Notable cases==
===''Thompson v. Calderon''===
[[Thomas Martin Thompson]] was convicted based largely on the testimony of his fellow inmates, but doubts about the effectiveness of his defense counsel led seven former California prosecutors to file briefs on Thompson's behalf.

The Ninth Circuit had originally denied Thompson's [[Habeas corpus|habeas]] petition attacking the state court decision. Two days before Thompson's scheduled execution, the Ninth Circuit ''[[en banc]]'' reversed (7–4) the earlier denial. Kozinski [[dissenting opinion|dissented]]:

{{blockquote|If the ''en banc'' call is missed for whatever reason, the error can be corrected in a future case where the problem again manifests itself.... That this is a capital case does not change the calculus. The stakes are higher in a death case, to be sure, but the stakes for a particular litigant play no legitimate role in the ''en banc'' process.}}

Kozinski's opinion was criticized by Judge [[Stephen Reinhardt]], who called it "bizarre and horrifying" and "unworthy of any jurist."<ref name="bazelon">Bazelon, Emily. [http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/January-February-2004/feature_bazelon_janfeb04.msp The Big Kozinski], LegalAffairs.org, January–February 2004; retrieved April 30, 2006.</ref> The ''en banc'' decision was reversed by the Supreme Court, which called the Ninth Circuit's action "a grave abuse of discretion."<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Calderon v. Thompson|vol=523|reporter=U.S.|opinion=538|pinpoint=542|date=1998|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/97-215.ZS.html}}</ref>

===''White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc.''===
{{Main|White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc.}}
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = 
| width1 = 150
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = 
| image2 = 
| width2 = 150
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = 
| footer = Images of Vanna White and the Samsung robot, from Kozinski's dissent in ''White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc.''
}}
Kozinski dissented from an order rejecting the suggestion for rehearing en banc an [[appeal]] filed by [[Vanna White]] against [[Samsung]] for depicting a robot on a ''[[Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]''–style set in a humorous advertisement. While the Ninth Circuit held in favor of White, Kozinski dissented: "All creators draw in part on the work of those who came before, referring to it, building on it, poking fun at it; we call this creativity, not piracy."<ref>''[[s:White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc./En banc Opinion|White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc.]]'', [[legal citation|989 F.2d 1512, 1512]] (9th Cir. 1993) ([[en banc]]).</ref> An extended extract from the opinion is widely quoted:

{{blockquote|Overprotecting intellectual property is as harmful as underprotecting it. Creativity is impossible without a rich public domain. Nothing today, likely nothing since we tamed fire, is genuinely new: Culture, like science and technology, grows by accretion, each new creator building on the works of those who came before. Overprotection stifles the very creative forces it's supposed to nurture.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.bc.edu/~yen/Torts/Vanna%20White%20Koz%20ed.pdf |title=White v. Samsung Electronics America|access-date=May 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015153456/http://www2.bc.edu/~yen/Torts/Vanna%20White%20Koz%20ed.pdf |archive-date=October 15, 2009}}</ref>}}

Kozinski's dissent in ''White'' is also famous for his sarcastic remark that "for better or worse, we are the Court of Appeals for the [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] Circuit."

===''Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc.''===
{{Main|Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc.}}
Yet another of Kozinski's high-profile cases was the lawsuit filed by [[Mattel]] against [[MCA Records]], the record label of Danish pop-dance group [[Aqua (band)|Aqua]], for "turning [[Barbie]] into a [[sexual objectification|sex object]]" in their 1997 song "[[Barbie Girl]]." Kozinski opened his opinion with: "If this were a sci-fi melodrama, it might be called Speech-Zilla meets Trademark Kong" and famously concluded his 2002 opinion with the words: "The parties are advised to chill."<ref>''Mattel, Inc. v. [[MCA Records]], Inc.'', 296 F.3d 894, 908 (9th Cir. 2002).</ref>

===''United States v. Ramirez-Lopez'' (2003)===
The majority found the [[due process]] rights of a man, who was accused of smuggling [[illegal immigrant]]s across the border, were not violated despite the fact that witnesses who could have exonerated him had been deported before they could be deposed. Kozinski dissented. Federal prosecutors, however, dropped all charges and released the defendant.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Henry|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-23-me-free23-story.html|title=Appeal Lost, Yet Freedom Won|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=April 23, 2003|access-date=December 17, 2011}}</ref><ref>[https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1213875.html ''United States v. Ramirez-Lopez''], 315 F.3d 1143 (9th Cir. 2003).</ref>

In 2012, after prosecutors used similar tactics in another case, ''United States v. Leal-Del Carmen'', Kozinski's position in ''Ramirez-Lopez'' became the law in the Ninth Circuit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/09/14/50313.htm|title=Prosecutors Told to Stop Deporting Witnesses|publisher=Courthouse News Service|date=September 14, 2012|access-date=September 17, 2012|author=Hull, Tim}}</ref><ref>''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140320070240/https://www.casetext.com/case/united-states-v-leal-del-carmen/ United States v. Carmen]'', no. 11-50094 (9th Cir. September 14, 2012) ("We had assumed, following ''Ramirez-Lopez'', that the government would refrain from putting aliens who could provide exculpatory evidence beyond the reach of the court and defense counsel. But whatever wisdom the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California gained in ''Ramirez-Lopez'' appears to have applied to that case and that defendant only. We change that today."). Retrieved March 19, 2014.</ref>

===''United States v. Isaacs''===
Kozinski was assigned an [[obscenity]] case, similar to that in ''[[Miller v. California]]''. [[Ira Isaacs]] was accused of distributing videos depicting bestiality and other images.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Kim Zetter |title=Chief Judge in Obscenity Case Caught Posting Porn|date=June 11, 2008|magazine=WIRED|url=http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/chief-judge-in.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=USLaw|title=What "Stuff" was on Judge Kozinski's Personal Website?|date=August 11, 2008|work=Celebrity Justice|url=http://www.uslaw.com/pop/what-stuff-was-on-judge-kozinskis-personal-website/?p=121|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614201428/http://www.uslaw.com/pop/what-stuff-was-on-judge-kozinskis-personal-website/?p=121|archive-date=June 14, 2008}}</ref> During the trial on June 11, 2008, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reported that Kozinski had "maintained a publicly accessible Web site featuring sexually explicit photos and videos" at alex.kozinski.com. The ''Times'' reported that the site included a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows; a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal; images of masturbation and public and contortionist sex; a slide show striptease featuring a transgender woman; a series of photos of women's crotches as seen through snug fitting clothing or underwear; and content with themes of defecation and urination. Kozinski admitted that some of the material was inappropriate but defended other content as "funny."<ref name="glover2008">{{cite news|author=Scott Glover|title=9th Circuit's chief judge posted sexually explicit matter on his website|date=June 11, 2008|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kozinski12-2008jun12,0,6220192.story}}</ref>

Calling the coverage a "baseless smear" by a disgruntled litigant, [[Stanford University]] law professor [[Lawrence Lessig]] pointed out that the ''Times'' had unfairly taken the videos and pictures out of context in its descriptions. He wrote that one frequently-mentioned video, the video described above as a "half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal," which actually involves a man running away from a donkey, is available on [[YouTube]],<ref name="youtube">{{YouTube|id=qRm8okHhapU|Donkey Rapes Man}}</ref> and is not, as is implied by the ''Times'' article, an example of [[bestiality]]. He also argued that the Kozinski family's [[right to privacy]] was violated when the disgruntled litigant exposed the private files, which were not intended for public viewing. Lessig compared the incident to breaking and entering a private residence.<ref name="lessig">Lessig, Lawrence (June 12, 2008). [http://lessig.org/blog/2008/06/the_kozinski_mess.html The Kozinski mess], lessig.org; accessed March 17, 2016.</ref>

Kozinski initially refused to comment on disqualifying himself<ref name="liptak">Adam Liptak, "Calif. Trial Focuses on Pornography: Los Angeles Jury Will Decide If Videos Are Obscene," ''The New York Times'', June 12, 2008, A21.</ref> and then granted a 48-hour stay, when the prosecutor requested time to explore "a potential conflict of interest."<ref name="glover2008"/> On June 13, Kozinski petitioned an ethics panel to investigate his own conduct. He asked Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] to assign the inquiry to a panel of judges outside the Ninth Circuit's jurisdiction. Also, he said that his son, Yale, and his family or friends may have been responsible for posting some of the material.<ref>Associated Press (June 13, 2008). [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/us/13brfs-JUDGECALLSFO_BRF.html California: Judge Calls for Inquiry Into His Conduct Over Web Site.]</ref><ref>Blood, Michael R. (June 13, 2008). [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3YrphWBHw1j30UUB9VLtw5pBkOQD91935R00 ap.google.com, Calif judge wants panel to probe his porn postings], Associated Press.@{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617210416/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3YrphWBHw1j30UUB9VLtw5pBkOQD91935R00 |date=June 17, 2008}}</ref> Kozinski's wife wrote a defense characterizing those of his posts which were alleged to be pornographic, to rather be humorous.<ref name=Marcy>[https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/06/the-kozinski--1.html The Kozinski Files - Two more views], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', Veronique de Turenne, June 16, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2018.</ref>

Kozinski had previously been involved in a dispute over government monitoring of federal court employees' computers. Administrative Office head [[Ralph Mecham]] dropped the monitoring program but protested in the press.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/06/11/a-look-back-at-judge-kozinskis-attack-against-monitoring-court-computers|work=The Wall Street Journal|title=A Look Back at Judge Kozinski's Attack on Monitoring Court Computers|first=Dan|last=Slater|date=June 11, 2008}}</ref> In 2001, Kozinski, who possesses sophisticated computer skills, personally disabled software which blocked federal court computers in three appellate circuits from receiving pornography.<ref>[https://www.statesboroherald.com/nation/national/judge-in-porn-tempest-has-distinguished-career/ Judge in porn tempest has distinguished career], ''[[Statesboro Herald]]'', Paul Elias, June 27, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2018.</ref>

On June 15, 2008, it was reported that Kozinski had [[Recusal|recused]] himself from the case.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Judge_Alex_Kozinski_Removes_Himself_from_Porn_Trial_19017.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620005432/http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Judge_Alex_Kozinski_Removes_Himself_from_Porn_Trial_19017.html|url-status=dead|title=eFluxMedia report|archive-date=June 20, 2008}}</ref> On June 5, 2009, the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit issued an opinion clearing Kozinski of any wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/07/02/kozinski-cleared-of-wrongdoing/|title=A 'Pleased' Kozinski Cleared of Wrongdoing|work=WSJ Law Blog|first=Ashby|last=Jones |date=July 2, 2009 |access-date=September 20, 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/089050p.pdf ''In re Complaint of Judicial Misconduct''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825080403/http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/089050p.pdf |date=August 25, 2009 }}, J.C. No. 03-08-90050, Judicial Council of the Third Circuit (June 5, 2009).</ref>

===''Cetacean Research v. Sea Shepherd''===
In February 2013, Kozinski wrote an opinion reversing a district court ruling that had denied Japanese whalers [[Institute of Cetacean Research]] a preliminary injunction against the US-based anti-whaling group [[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society]]. Kozinski found that the militant conservationist group were "pirates," reversed the denial of injunction by the district court, and affirmed its own provisional injunction against Sea Shepherd. The injunction bars Sea Shepherd from approaching within 500 yards of ICS vessels.<ref>{{cite news|title=US judge labels anti-whaling group 'pirates'|date=February 27, 2013|work=AFP|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130227-us-judge-labels-anti-whaling-group-pirates-0|access-date=February 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304173729/http://www.france24.com/en/20130227-us-judge-labels-anti-whaling-group-pirates-0|archive-date=March 4, 2013|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Keith Herting|title=Federal appeals court rules anti-whaling group modern-day 'pirates'|date=February 27, 2013|work=Jurist.org|url=http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/02/federal-appeals-court-rules-anti-whaling-group-modern-day-pirates.php}}</ref>

Sea Shepherd founder [[Paul Watson]] dismissed the opinion enjoining his organization from interfering with ICS vessels as "entirely devoid of real evidence" and claimed that Sea Shepherd USA was in full compliance with the injunction.<ref>{{citation|date=February 27, 2013|title=Ten Questions With Answers from the Southern Ocean|work=Sea Shepherd|url=http://www.seashepherd.org.au/commentary-and-editorials/2013/02/27/ten-questions-with-answers-from-the-southern-ocean-601}}</ref>

===''Wood v. Ryan''===
In July 2014, [[Joseph Rudolph Wood]], who had been sentenced to death, filed a motion before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals claiming a right to know which chemicals were included in the lethal injection that was to be used to execute him. While the court denied his motion, Kozinski issued a dissenting opinion, calling the use of drugs a "misguided effort to mask the brutality of executions by making them look serene and peaceful." He went on to argue that states should revert to more primitive methods like the guillotine, electric chair, gas chamber, and firing squads because they are accurate and do not mask the brutality. He wrote, "Sure, firing squads can be messy, but if we are willing to carry out executions, we should not shield ourselves from the reality that we are shedding human blood. If we, as a society, cannot stomach the splatter from an execution carried out by firing squad, then we shouldn't be carrying out executions at all."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pilkington|first1=Ed|title=Top judge attacks lethal injection as Arizona fails in death penalty appeal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/21/arizona-fails-challenge-execution|access-date=July 28, 2014|work=The Guardian|date=July 21, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Longo|first1=Adam|title=NEWS Federal judge suggests guillotine, firing squad be used for executions|url=http://www.ksat.com/content/pns/ksat/news/2014/07/25/az-judge-suggests-guillotine-firing-squad.html|access-date=July 28, 2014|publisher=KSAT ABC 12|date=July 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812170456/http://www.ksat.com/content/pns/ksat/news/2014/07/25/az-judge-suggests-guillotine-firing-squad.html|archive-date=August 12, 2014|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="The Washington Post Morning Mix">{{cite news|last1=Barbash|first1=Fred|title=Guillotine, firing squads better than lethal injection, says prominent federal judge|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/22/guillotine-firing-squads-better-than-lethal-injection-says-prominent-federal-judge/}}</ref><ref name="Associated Press">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/24/firing-squad-execution-joseph-rudolph-wood-arizona/13120759|work=USA Today|title=Federal judge urges return of firing squad|date=July 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Good Morning America, ABC News">{{cite web|last1=de Vogue|first1=Ariane|title=Federal Judge Favors 'More Primitive' but 'Foolproof' Firing Squad|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/federal-judge-favors-primitive-foolproof-firing-squad/story?id=24691604}}</ref><ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite news|last1=Dolan|first1=Maura|title=Executions should be by firing squad, federal appeals court judge says|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-na-nn-arizona-execution-kozinski-20140723-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 17, 2016}}</ref> Wood's execution subsequently took 1 hour 57 min before he was pronounced dead.

===''State of Washington v. Trump''===
On March 17, 2017, Kozinski wrote a dissenting opinion when the Ninth Circuit denied en banc review after a three-judge panel blocked Trump's "travel ban." Joined by [[Jay Bybee]], [[Consuelo Callahan]], [[Carlos Bea]], and [[Sandra Segal Ikuta]], he argued that courts should not divine an illicit purpose from a President's statements on the campaign trail. Kozinski was criticized by [[Stephen Reinhardt]] and [[Marsha Berzon]] in two separate concurring opinions{{snd}} Reinhardt referred to Kozinski's opinion a "diatribe" and Berzon called it "a one-sided attack on a decision by a duly constituted panel of this court."<ref>[http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/03/17/17-35105_Amd_Order.pdf Court document] uscourts.gov March 17, 2017</ref> The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the "travel ban" against similar challenges in the 2018 case ''[[Trump v. Hawaii]]''. Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] wrote for the majority that "because there is persuasive evidence that the entry restriction has a legitimate grounding in national security concerns, quite apart from any religious hostility," the courts "must accept that independent justification."<ref>[https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/17-965_h315.pdf Court document] supremecourt.gov</ref>

===''United States v. Sanchez-Gomez''===
In May 2017, Kozinski wrote for the narrowly divided ''[[en banc]]'' circuit when it found that the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of California]]'s policy of indiscriminately shackling criminal defendants in all pretrial hearings violated the Constitution's [[Due Process Clause]].<ref>{{Bluebook journal |first=|last=Note| title=Recent Case: Ninth Circuit Deems Unconstitutional Routine Shackling in Pretrial Proceedings| volume=131 | journal=[[Harvard Law Review|Harv. L. Rev.]] | page=1163 | url=https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/1163-1170_Online.pdf| year=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=United States v. Sanchez-Gomez|vol=859 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=649|court=9th Cir.|date=2017) (en banc|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10428058978903876951}}</ref>  In March 2018, the court's judgment was vacated as [[mootness|moot]] by the unanimous [[Supreme Court of the United States]]<ref>{{cite web |title=United States v. Sanchez-Gomez |url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/2017/17-312 |website=[[Oyez Project]] |access-date=11 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> in ''[[United States v. Sanchez-Gomez]].<ref>{{cite court |litigants=United States v. Sanchez-Gomez |vol=584 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=___ |date=2018 |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/584/17-312/ |access-date=March 13, 2019}}</ref>''

== Investigations ==

=== Personal website ===
In 2008, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' revealed Kozinski "maintained a publicly accessible website featuring sexually explicit photos and videos."<ref name="latimes.com"/> Kozinski had collected a "vast" number of images sent to him via e-mail over many years and retained them on a personal web server in his home. Kozinski believed that only invited friends and family were able to view the image directory.<ref name=complaint>{{cite court|url=http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/089050p.pdf|litigants=In Re: Complaint of Judicial Misconduct|court=Judicial Council of the Third Circuit|reporter=U.S.|opinion=03-08-90050|date=June 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825080403/http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/089050p.pdf |archive-date=August 25, 2009|accessdate=March 17, 2016}}</ref> Nonetheless, he called for an ethics investigation of himself,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/06/17/cj-roberts-assigns-east-coast-judges-to-kozinski-investigation|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|title=CJ Roberts Assigns East Coast Judges to Kozinski Investigation|first=Dan|last=Slater|date=June 17, 2008}}</ref> and was suspended from presiding over the obscenity trial of [[Ira Isaacs]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Trial halted over judge's website|date=June 12, 2008|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7450359.stm | access-date=January 5, 2010|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

In July 2009, a panel, headed by Judge [[Anthony Joseph Scirica]], wrote that Kozinski should have administered his web server more carefully, but that Kozinski's apology and deletion of the website, in addition to the panel's admonishment and the public dissemination of it, sufficiently ended the matter.<ref name=complaint/><ref>{{cite news|first=Maryclaire|last=Dale|url=https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/nation/peers-admonish-federal-judge-over-web-sex-files/article_a6cede41-fb07-5afc-9df6-a9d131b8ae60.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|title=Peers admonish federal judge over Web sex files|date=July 2, 2009}}</ref>

=== Sexual misconduct ===
Kozinski has been accused of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to assault, by more than 15 women. Former Kozinski clerk Katherine Ku has described Kozinski's chambers—where three or four law clerks, one or two judicial assistants, and one or more judicial externs typically worked at a given time—as a "hostile, demeaning and persistently sexualized environment".<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|first=Katherine|last=Ku|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/pressuring-harassers-to-quit-can-end-up-protecting-them/2018/01/05/0d44aeba-ea5d-11e7-8a6a-80acf0774e64_story.html|title=Perspective {{!}} Pressuring harassers to quit can end up protecting them|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 5, 2018|language=en|access-date=August 19, 2018}}</ref> An image posted on the legal gossip blog ''[[David Lat|Underneath their Robes]]'' shows a female law clerk with her arm draped around Kozinski's neck.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://underneaththeirrobes.blogs.com/main/2004/07/_general_commen.html|title=Too Sexy For Their Robes: The Nominees for Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary!|website=Underneath Their Robes|access-date=August 19, 2018}}</ref>

Some former Kozinski clerks have observed that because Kozinski retired from the bench after the first 15 women accused him of misconduct, "additional targets of, or witnesses to, Kozinski's transgressions" will not be likely to speak publicly.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/opinion/sunday/alex-kozinski-harassment-allegations-comeback.html|title=Opinion {{!}} A Comeback but No Reckoning|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 2, 2018 |access-date=August 19, 2018|language=en|last1=Litman |first1=Leah |last2=Murphy |first2=Emily |last3=Ku |first3=Katherine H. }}</ref> His former clerk, [[Brett Kavanaugh]], during his hearing before the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] taking up his nomination for the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]], received written questions tendered to him by Senator [[Chris Coons]] about any knowledge of Kozinski's inappropriate behavior, including his circulations of sexually explicit emails via his "Easy Rider Gag List". Kavanaugh denied knowing anything about the allegations against Kozinski prior to the publication of a news article about them in the ''[[Washington Post]]'' in December 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2018/09/25/brett-kavanaugh-alex-kozinski-chris-coons/|title=How One Senator Cornered Brett Kavanaugh About His Mentor's Sexually Explicit Emails|website=[[The Intercept]]|first1=Akela|last1=Lacy|first2=Ryan|last2=Grim|date=September 25, 2018|accessdate=September 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Rebecca|last=Morin|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/05/key-moments-kavanaugh-hearing-807176|title=Key Moments From the Kavanaugh Hearing|website=[[Politico]]|date=September 5, 2018|accessdate=October 4, 2023}}</ref>

Public allegations of Kozinski's sexual misconduct toward female lawyers and law students include:

* Romance novelist [[Courtney Milan|Heidi Bond]], who once clerked for Kozinski, accused Kozinski of calling her into his office, pulling up pornography on his computer, and asking if she thought it was [[Photoshop]]ped or if it aroused her sexually; when she said no, she alleged, he interrogated her as to why it did not.<ref name="washpo8dec17">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/prominent-appeals-court-judge-alex-kozinski-accused-of-sexual-misconduct/2017/12/08/1763e2b8-d913-11e7-a841-2066faf731ef_story.html|title=Prominent Appeals Court Judge Alex Kozinski Accused of Sexual Misconduct|last1=Zapotosky|first1=Matt|date=December 8, 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 8, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171209050039/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/prominent-appeals-court-judge-alex-kozinski-accused-of-sexual-misconduct/2017/12/08/1763e2b8-d913-11e7-a841-2066faf731ef_story.html|archive-date=December 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
* A former Kozinski clerk said Kozinski, in his chambers, showed her an "open-legged image of a male figure that was naked".<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nine-more-women-say-judge-subjected-them-to-inappropriate-behavior-including-four-who-say-he-touched-or-kissed-them/2017/12/15/8729b736-e105-11e7-8679-a9728984779c_story.html|title=Nine more women say judge subjected them to inappropriate behavior, including four who say he touched or kissed them|first=Matt|last=Zapotosky|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|language=en|date=December 15, 2017|access-date=August 19, 2018}}</ref>
* "One recent law student at the University of Montana said that Kozinski, at a 2016 reception, pressed his finger into the side of her breast, which was covered by her clothes, and moved it with some 'deliberateness' to the center, purporting to be pushing aside her lapel to fully see her name tag."{{attribution needed|date=August 2025}}<ref name=":2" />
* A lawyer "said Kozinski approached her when she was alone in a room at a legal community event around 2008 in downtown Los Angeles and – with no warning – gave her a bear hug and kissed her on the lips."<ref name=":2" />
* [[University of California at Irvine]] law professor [[Leah Litman]] said at a 2017 dinner, Kozinski pinched her and joked that he had just had sex with his wife and she or others at the table would be "happy to know it still works".<ref name=":2" />
* Former [[U.S. Court of Federal Claims]] judge [[Christine Odell Cook Miller]], 73, said that "around early 1986 said Kozinski grabbed and squeezed each of her breasts as the two drove back from an event in Baltimore in the mid-1980s, after she had told him she did not want to stop at a motel and have sex."<ref name=":2" />
* [[Dahlia Lithwick]] wrote in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' that when she was clerking for another judge on the Ninth Circuit and Kozinski learned she was in a hotel room, he asked her what she was wearing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/12/judge_alex_kozinski_made_us_all_victims_and_accomplices.html|title=He Made Us All Victims and Accomplices|last=Lithwick|first=Dahlia|date=December 13, 2017|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|access-date=August 19, 2018|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339}}</ref>
* Emily Murphy, who was clerking for another Ninth Circuit judge at the time and later became a professor at [[University of California, Hastings College of the Law|UC Hastings]], said Kozinski suggested to a group that she exercise naked in the courthouse gymnasium.<ref name="Dolan">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-kozinski-sexual-misconduct-20171208-story.html|title=9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski is accused by former clerks of making sexual comments|last1=Dolan|first1=Maura|date=December 8, 2017|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref> Murphy has said, "It wasn't just clear that he was imagining me naked, he was trying to invite other people – my professional colleagues – to do so as well. That was what was humiliating about it."<ref name="Dolan" />
* A former Ninth Circuit clerk reported that in late 2011 or early 2012, she found herself sitting next to Kozinski at a dinner in Seattle. He "kind of picked the tablecloth up so that he could see the bottom half of me, my legs", and he remarked, "I wanted to see if you were wearing pants because it's cold out."<ref name="washpo8dec17" />
* A "former Ninth Circuit clerk said that at a dinner with other clerks, Kozinski brought up a movie that contained a topless woman, talking about her 'voluptuous' breasts. The woman ... said she made a face to signal her disbelief at what he was saying, and Kozinski turned to her and said something like, 'What? I'm a man.{{'"}}<ref name=":2" />
* One "former Kozinski extern said the judge once made a comment about her hair and looked her body up and down 'in a less-than-professional way.'  That extern said Kozinski also once talked with her about a female judge stripping." The clerk said she would not want to be alone with Kozinski.<ref name="washpo8dec17" />
* A former extern said she had at least two conversations with Kozinski "that had sexual overtones directed at me".<ref name="washpo8dec17" />

=== Employment practices ===
Former clerks also describe abusive employment practices by Kozinski.<ref name="washpo8dec17" /> For many years, Judge Kozinski's job announcement stated that "I'm looking for amazingly intelligent Supreme Court clerk wannabes eager to slave like dogs for an unreasonably demanding boss."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Federal and State Judicial Clerkship Directory|publisher=National Association for Law Placement|year=1990}}</ref> Former law clerk Heidi Bond described how Kozinski forbade her from reading romance novels during her dinner break: the Judge asserted, "I control what you read, what you write, when you eat. You don't sleep if I say so. You don't ''shit'' unless I say so. Do you understand?"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.courtneymilan.com/metoo/kozinski.html|title=Judge Kozinski}}</ref> Bond also described interactions consistent with [[Cycle of abuse|cycles of abuse]].

{{quote|
This sort of diatribe was a regular occurrence. The judge had incredibly high standards, and when we failed to meet them, we were raked over the coals. I do not think a week passed without at least one such outburst; during bad times, they were a daily occurrence.  He also had an innate sense of when he'd gone too far.

After he'd demonstrated that he had forgiven me for the misplaced comma or misspelled word that gave rise to his outburst, he would go up to me. "Heidi, honey," he would ask. "Do you still love me?" There was only one answer. To say "no" would be to invite the tempest a second time. "Yes, Judge," I would say. "Of course I still love you." He'd kiss my cheek, and I would kiss his.}}

Former clerk Katherine Ku wrote that Kozinski expected to be able to approve the location of her apartment, would complain when his clerks "wanted salad for lunch instead of whatever he was having", and "regularly diminished women and their accomplishments".<ref name=":1" />

Complaints about Kozinski's abusive employment practices were raised as early as 1985 by former Kozinski employees. Those employees claimed Kozinski was unqualified to join the Ninth Circuit "because of a harsh temperament, questionable decisions and misleading testimony before the Judiciary Committee".<ref name=":0" />  They said Kozinski was "harsh, cruel, demeaning, sadistic, disingenuous and without compassion", and that his actions as a boss "portray[ed] an unusual degree of hostility ... and at times an almost complete disregard for the consequences of the actions upon individuals."<ref name=":0" />

=== Timeline ===
On December 8, 2017, Kozinski was accused of misconduct by six women including former [[law clerk]]s, legal externs, and junior staffers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/10/us/men-accused-sexual-misconduct-weinstein.html|title=After Weinstein: 49 Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct and Their Fall From Power|last=Almukhtar|first=Sarah|date=November 10, 2017|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=December 30, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Kozinski responded to the allegations saying he did not remember showing any type of sexual material to his clerks and, "If this is all they are able to dredge up after 35 years, I am not too worried."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/prominent-appeals-court-judge-alex-kozinski-accused-of-sexual-misconduct/2017/12/08/1763e2b8-d913-11e7-a841-2066faf731ef_story.html|title=Prominent appeals court Judge Alex Kozinski accused of sexual misconduct|last=Zapotosky|first=Matt|date=December 8, 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 30, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Kozinski officially issued a statement that read:<ref name="washpo8dec17" />

{{blockquote|I have been a judge for 35 years and during that time have had over 500 employees in my chambers. I treat all of my employees as family and work very closely with most of them. I would never intentionally do anything to offend anyone and it is regrettable that a handful have been offended by something I may have said or done.|sign=|source=}}

On December 14, the chief judge of the Ninth Circuit referred the matters for investigation and a day later assigned them to the 2nd Circuit. On December 15, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' published a story with allegations against Kozinski from 9 more women, this time with more prominent accusers including colleagues, law students, a professor and a former judge. The disclosed sexual misbehavior allegations span more than three decades, including allegations of unwanted physical touching and invitations by Kozinski to have sex. Four of the women say Kozinski touched or kissed them without permission. Three of the clerks who were working for him when the allegations broke resigned their positions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nine-more-women-say-judge-subjected-them-to-inappropriate-behavior-including-four-who-say-he-touched-or-kissed-them/2017/12/15/8729b736-e105-11e7-8679-a9728984779c_story.html |title=Nine more women say judge subjected them to inappropriate behavior including four who say he touched or kissed them |work=[[The Washington Post]] |first=Matt |last=Zapotosky |date=December 15, 2017 |access-date=December 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2017/12/sources-report-3-kozinski-clerks-are-out/|title=Sources Report 3 Kozinski Clerks Are Out|last=Mystal|first=Kathryn Rubino and Elie|work=Above the Law|access-date=2018-08-19|language=en-US}}</ref>

On December 18, 2017, Kozinski announced his immediate retirement.{{r|Zapotosky (2017)}} It was unknown whether the investigation on Kozinski would continue. He stated during his resignation that the women must have misunderstood his "broad sense of humor" and "candid way of speaking".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/federal-appeals-judge-announces-immediate-retirement-amid-investigation-prompted-by-accusations-of-sexual-misconduct/2017/12/18/6e38ada4-e3fd-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e_story.html|title=Federal appeals judge announces immediate retirement amid probe of sexual misconduct allegations|last=Zapotosky|first=Matt|date=December 18, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=December 30, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Upon his retirement, many news sources characterized him as both a "[[libertarian]]", and a writer of "colorful" opinions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/us/alex-kozinski-retires.html|title=Alex Kozinski retires|work=[[The New York Times]]|first= Niraj |last=Chokshi|date= December 18, 2017|access-date= September 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-judge-alex-kozinski-harassment-20171215-story.html |title=9 more women say 9th Circuit Judge Kozinski subjected them to inappropriate behavior|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|first=Matt |last=Zapotosky |date= December 18, 2017|access-date= September 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-alex-kozinski-judge-accused-sexual-misconduct-nine-more-women-750382 |title=Who Is Alex Kozinski? Judge Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct By Nine More Women |work=[[Newsweek]] |first=Robert |last=Valencia |date=December 15, 2017 |access-date=September 25, 2018}}</ref>

== Post-judicial career ==
On December 9, 2019, Kozinski argued before the Ninth Circuit for the first time since his resignation due to the scandal. Kozinski argued for a plaintiff suing over [[intellectual property]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/kozinski-returns-to-9th-cir-to-argue-shape-of-water-case|title=Kozinski Argues Case at 9th Circuit After Sex Misconduct Claims|website=news.bloomberglaw.com}}</ref>

Kozinski is representing former President Donald Trump in his lawsuit against Twitter on appeal in the Ninth Circuit.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomsen |first=Jacqueline |date=2022-07-01 |title=Trump hires former 9th Circuit judge Kozinski for Twitter court fight |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-hires-former-9th-circuit-judge-kozinski-twitter-court-fight-2022-07-02/ |website=Reuters}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Kozinski and his wife, attorney Marcy Jane Tiffany, were married soon after he graduated from law school. They have three sons.<ref name=Marcy/>

As a judge, Kozinski would host a movie night called Kozinski's Favorite Flicks.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Randazzo |first=Sara |date=2016-09-27 |title=At Judge Kozinski's Movie Night, a Standing Ovation for Larry Flynt |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/09/27/at-judge-kozinskis-movie-night-a-standing-ovation-for-larry-flynt/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

In addition to being a former judge, Kozinski has been an essayist and a judicial commentator.<ref name="Golden">David A. Golden (1992), [http://www.law2.byu.edu/lawreview4/archives/1992/2/gol.pdf Humor, the Law, and Judge Kozinski's Greatest Hits], ''Brigham Young University Law Review'': 513.</ref> Kozinski contributions to law journals have been used in graduate instruction at Georgetown University.<ref name="Georgetown Journal">{{Cite web |url=https://georgetownlawjournal.org/assets/kozinski-arcp-preface-9a990f08f3f006558eaa03ccc440d3078f5899b3426ec47aaedb89c606caeae7.pdf |title=Georgetown Law Journal(2015) |access-date=December 20, 2017 |archive-date=October 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013071810/https://georgetownlawjournal.org/assets/kozinski-arcp-preface-9a990f08f3f006558eaa03ccc440d3078f5899b3426ec47aaedb89c606caeae7.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Jewish American jurists]]
* [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Chief Justice)]]
* [[List of United States federal judges by longevity of service]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="Bernstein (2015)">{{cite web
 |last         = Bernstein
 |first        = David
 |author-link  = David Bernstein (law professor)
 |title        = 'Mondoweiss' Is a Hate Site (updated)
 |date         = May 4, 2015
 |work         = [[Volokh Conspiracy]]
 |url          = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/04/mondoweiss-is-a-hate-site/
 |access-date  = December 20, 2017
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20160922094751/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/04/mondoweiss-is-a-hate-site/
 |archive-date = September 22, 2016
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref>

<!--unused ref<ref name="Fortin (2017)">
  {{cite news
  |last = Fortin
  |first = Jacey
  |title = Federal Appeals Court Judge Is Accused of Sexual Harassment
  |date = December 10, 2017
  |newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
  |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/10/us/judge-alex-kozinski-harassment.html
  |access-date = December 20, 2017
  |archive-url = https://archive.today/20171220131828/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/10/us/judge-alex-kozinski-harassment.html
  |archive-date = December 20, 2017
  |url-status = live
  }}
</ref>-->

<ref name="National Park Service biography">{{cite web
 |title        = Alex Kozinski
 |website      = National Park Service
 |department   = Pacific Coast Immigration
 |url          = https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pacificcoastimmigration/kozinski.htm
 |access-date  = December 20, 2017
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20171220132711/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pacificcoastimmigration/kozinski.htm
 |archive-date = December 20, 2017
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref>

<ref name="Zapotosky (2017)">{{cite news
 |last         = Zapotosky
 |first        = Matt
 |title        = Federal Appeals Judge Announces Immediate Retirement Amid Probe of Sexual Misconduct Allegations
 |date         = December 18, 2017
 |newspaper    = [[The Washington Post]]
 |url          = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/federal-appeals-judge-announces-immediate-retirement-amid-investigation-prompted-by-accusations-of-sexual-misconduct/2017/12/18/6e38ada4-e3fd-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e_story.html
 |access-date  = December 20, 2017
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20171218152227/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/federal-appeals-judge-announces-immediate-retirement-amid-investigation-prompted-by-accusations-of-sexual-misconduct/2017/12/18/6e38ada4-e3fd-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e_story.html
 |archive-date = December 18, 2017
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category-inline}}
* {{FJC Bio|1314|nid=1383496|name=Alex Kozinski<!--(1950–)-->}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080623083428/http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/chief_judge_bio.html Chief Judge Alex Kozinski biography] via U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
* [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/99-1985/s288 Confirmation vote for Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals] via GovTrack
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051030104307/http://www.newsmeat.com/judiciary_political_donations/Alex_Kozinski.php Campaign contributions made by Judge Alex Kozinski]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051019034953/http://www.kcet.org/lifeandtimes/archives/townhall/305.php Interview with Alex Kozinski and Stephen Reinhardt]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/15/politics/16text-blogs.html NY Times: Judge Kozinski's 'Nomination Letter' to the Judicial Hottie contest.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722172357/http://www.jmitchell.me/essays/alex-kozinski-quotes Favorite Quotations of Alex Kozinski]
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-tobias30nov30,0,651977.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail ''Los Angeles Times'': A new No. 1 at the 9th Circuit]
* {{C-SPAN|19491}}
* [https://www.cato.org/events/does-american-criminal-justice-system-need-overhaul Does the American Criminal Justice System Need an Overhaul?] [[Cato Institute]] debate, including Alex Kozinski
* [https://globalwrong.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/kozinski-criminal-law-2.pdf Criminal Law 2.0, by the Hon. Alex Kozinski]
* Alex Kozinski. [http://alex.kozinski.com/articles/ Publications]<!-- [http://alex.kozinski.com/articles/2017.06.01.ak.publications.list.pdf] {{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Publications List of Alex Kozinski] -->
* Alex Kozinski. [http://alex.kozinski.com/articles/The_Annotated_Alex.pdf ''The Annotated Alex'']
* {{cite news |last1=Bond |first1=Heidi |title=I Received Some of Kozinski's Infamous Gag List Emails. I'm Baffled by Kavanaugh's Responses to Questions About Them. |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/kavanaugh-kozinski-gag-list-emails-senate-hearings.html |access-date=25 February 2021 |work=Slate Magazine |date=14 September 2018 |language=en}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-new|seat}}
{{s-ttl|title=Judge of the [[United States Court of Federal Claims|United States Claims Court]]|years=1982–1985}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Marian Blank Horn]]}}
|-
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chief Judge of the [[United States Court of Federal Claims|United States Claims Court]]|years=1982–1985}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Loren A. Smith]]}}
|-
{{s-new|seat}}
{{s-ttl|title=Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]]|years=1985–2017}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Daniel Bress]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Mary M. Schroeder]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]]}}|years=2007–2014}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sidney Runyan Thomas]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozinski, Alex}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century American judges]]
[[Category:21st-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:American Jews]]
[[Category:American libertarians]]
[[Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Federal Claims]]
[[Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Bucharest]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:People associated with Covington & Burling]]
[[Category:People from Los Feliz, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Romanian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:UCLA School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:United States Article I federal judges appointed by Ronald Reagan]]
[[Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan]]