Federal Judge Alex Kozinski May Be Investigated For Sexual Harassment
Alex Kozinski in March. Image by Getty
By Ari Feldman December 15, 2017
A major federal appeals court judge and longtime judicial commentator may be investigated over allegations of sexual harassment, the LA Times reported.
Alex Kozinski, who has sat on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for over three decades, was recently accused of making sexual comments in front of female employees and of showing pornography to female staffers. The accusations were published in the Washington Post. Kozinski has denied the accusations.
But on Thursday 9th Circuit Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas asked for an investigation into Kozinski’s behavior, citing routine federal court procedure.
“This order is publicly disclosed in order to ‘maintain public confidence in the Judiciary’s ability to redress misconduct or disability,’” Thomas wrote. “In the past, when incidents of alleged misconduct have been reported in an accredited media publication, we have identified a complaint and initiated an inquiry.”
It was not immediately clear if an official complaint had been filed.
Kozinski is the son of Holocaust survivors, and immigrated to the U.S. from Romania in 1962.
Contact Ari Feldman at feldman@forward.com or on Twitter @aefeldman
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