9th Circuit Chief Judge Sidney Thomas
Change happens slowly, then all at once.
Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas has ordered a judicial misconduct inquiry into Judge Alex Kozinski. The Washington Post previously reported at least six women who have accused Judge Kozinski of lewd conduct.
It’s unusual for a misconduct inquiry to be done publicly, but Judge Thomas said that he released his order for the sake of transparency in the process. Thomas also asked Chief Justice John Roberts to assign the inquiry to another circuit court, due to the “exceptional circumstances” surrounding Kozinski.
As the Recorder notes, this will not be the first time Kozinski has been subject to a misconduct inquiry:
In 2008, the Los Angeles Times reported that Kozinski was maintaining a publicly accessible website showing sexually explicit photos and videos. The judge told the newspaper that he did not realize the site was available to the public and he kept it as his private storage. While some of the material was inappropriate, he said, he thought other content was “funny.”
At Kozinski’s request, the Ninth Circuit began an inquiry into possible misconduct for maintenance of the public website. The formal investigation was referred to the Third Circuit’s judicial council, which ultimately “admonished” him for “conduct exhibiting poor judgment with respect to this material created a public controversy that can reasonably be seen as having resulted in embarrassment to the institution of the federal judiciary.”
Somehow I think “admonishment” is not how this thing here is going to end. As we reported earlier, sources say that three of Kozinski’s clerks are resigning.
The way Thomas is handling this is important, because it sets a precedent for how these things are going to proceed. A formal inquiry, publicly announced, referred to a different circuit — that’s the start of a procedure. And we’re going to need procedures and processes going forward, because this is just starting to go through the judicial ranks.
As it should. As it must. Change is here.
Ninth Circuit Brings Complaint Against Alex Kozinski After Sexual Harassment Claims [The Recorder]
A Prominent Appeals Judge Accused Of Sexual Misconduct Is Now Facing An Inquiry By The Court System [Buzzfeed]
Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.