Alex Kozinski (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Just when you thought it was safe to stream porn to your computer and make your clerks watch, a new lawsuit might give you pause if decency and common sense hadn’t already.
When Judge Alex Kozinski bolted from the federal bench just in time to put an end to any inquiry into allegations of decades of sexual misconduct, it looked like the end of it. Like the Duke boys crossing the county line, retiring from the federal bench offers complete and total protection from the long arm of justice. Kozinski’s strategy was so elegant, the Third Circuit’s Maryanne Trump Barry pulled the exact same move once the New York Times started looking into the creative approach she and her brother took with the IRS.
His fall from grace didn’t last all that long, with a rehabilitation tour starting roughly a year after he left the bench. He got invited to fancy law parties again, and even got back into the Ninth Circuit, this time as an advocate.
A new lawsuit seeks to turn back the page on Kozinski’s second act to the unresolved matters of the first. The long, twisted road that led to Kozinski’s resignation is dotted with appearances by attorney Cyrus Sanai, a litigant who Kozinski attempted to publicly embarrass in an op-ed, prompting Sanai to engage in research that led him to discover Kozinski’s porn stash. Sanai’s first misconduct complaints were brushed aside until the Los Angeles Times published a story about Kozinski’s files prompting the judge to file a misconduct claim against himself, staying Sanai’s most recent complaint at the time and sending the investigation to the Third Circuit. After the Third Circuit cleared Kozinski, the Ninth Circuit censured Sanai for bringing his complaint and referred the matter to the State Bar. A judge later dismissed most of the State Bar claims. After Kozinski was embroiled in the Me Too claims brought to light in the Washington Post, Sanai filed a motion to vacate the censure — it was never addressed.
Yesterday, Sanai filed a lawsuit against Kozinski, as well as the judges and court personnel that he alleges provided succor to Kozinski throughout this ordeal. In a nutshell, he argues the censure and efforts to disbar him remain palpable damages and that Kozinski’s resignation cannot shield Kozinski from responsibility for those harms.
As for Kozinski’s supporting cast, Sanai argues that the Judicial Council doesn’t even have the authority to issue a censure or sanction of any kind and wants those efforts condemned as abuses of power.
In a statement to The Recorder, Sanai explained that the monetary damages he seeks, while important, aren’t really his biggest concern. What he wants to see is serious reform to avoid abuses like these from occurring in the future.
And, of course, an end to the rehabilitation tour. “Kozinski needs to be removed as a lawyer. He’s a danger to due process.”
Regardless of the ultimate success of Sanai’s claims, it’s worth taking pause to realize that we have a judiciary set up to essentially bar clerks alleging harassment from having their harasser investigated and requiring a man who just happened to stumble upon the server at the heart of those claims to bring the complaint. He may have brought his initial complaints for wholly different reasons, but right now, Cyrus Sanai is an accidental proxy for a number of former clerks. It’s a responsibility he seems more than willing to shoulder.
(Read the full complaint on the next page…)
Earlier: The Biglaw Firm Taking Disgraced Former Judge Kozinski To Dinner
Disgraced Former Judge Alex Kozinski’s Rehabilitation Tour Continues With Oral Argument
The Rehabilitation Of Disgraced Judge Kozinski Has Begun
Breaking: Judge Kozinski Is Retiring Effective Immediately
More (Yes, More) Allegations Against Judge Kozinski. Reading Them Will Make You Feel Gross.
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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.