Alex Kozinski

Infobox Judge
name = Alex Kozinski


imagesize = 150px
caption =
office = Judge on United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
termstart = 1985
termend =
nominator = Ronald Reagan
appointer =
predecessor = Seat established
successor = Incumbent
office2 = Chief Judge
termstart2 = 1 December 2007
termend2 =
nominator2 =
appointer2 =
predecessor2 = Mary M. Schroeder
successor2 = Incumbent
birthdate = Birth date and age|1950|7|23|mf=y
birthplace = Bucharest, Romania
deathdate =
deathplace =
spouse =

Alex Kozinski (born 23 July 1950) is a Romanian American jurist. He is currently Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and a popular essayist and judicial opinion–writer.David A. Golden (1992), [http://lawreview.byu.edu/archives/1992/2/gol.pdf Humor, the Law, and Judge Kozinski's Greatest Hits] , "Brigham Young University Law Review": 513.]

Biography

Kozinski was born in Bucharest, Romania. In 1962, when he was 12, his parents, both Holocaust survivors, brought him to the United States. The family settled in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, where his father, Moses, ran a small grocery store.

Kozinski graduated from University of California, Los Angeles, receiving an A.B. degree in 1972, and from UCLA School of Law, receiving a J.D. degree in 1975.

Shortly after law school, Kozinski challenged an incorrectly dated traffic ticket in "Kozinski v. Gates" and won.His son also prevailed in the similar "Kozinski v. Baca & Chavez" 30 years later, leading to procedural changes including elimination of automatic bail for traffic tickets in Los Angeles County. Alex Kozinski, [http://web.archive.org/web/20070622010206/http://alex.kozinski.com/articles/How_I_Narrowly_Escaped_Insanity.pdf How I Narrowly Escaped Insanity] , "UCLA Law Review" 48, no. 6 (2001): 1293-1303.]

Judicial career

Kozinski's first judicial appointment was as chief judge at the newly formed United States Court of Federal Claims in 1982.

In 1985, aged 35, Kozinski was appointed to a new seat at the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Ronald Reagan, making him the youngest federal appeals court judge in the country. Defending the court against criticism because of a controversial decision, Kozinski went on record emphasizing the independence of the judges: "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." [ [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june05/controversial_1-17.html Online NewsHour: Debate Brews over Splitting 9th Circuit Court - January 17, 2005 ] ] He also took a stand against the charge that the Ninth Circuit Court is overly liberal, which led some to call it "The Notorious Ninth": "And yet I can say with some confidence that cries that the Ninth Circuit is so liberal are just simply misplaced."Michaels, Spencer (January 17, 2005). [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june05/controversial_1-17.html Controversial Court.] NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.] On November 30, 2007, Judge Kozinski received the gavel as the tenth Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. [ [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.]

Notable cases

"Calderon v. Thompson"

One of the most controversial cases that Judge Kozinski had a role in was the murder case of Thomas Martin Thompson. Thompson had been convicted by a prosecution that relied heavily on the testimony of his jail inmates, and there were doubts in the efficiency of his defense that even led seven former California prosecutors into filing briefs on Thompson's behalf. Four days before the scheduled execution, the Ninth voted 7 to 4 to give Thompson a new trial on the grounds of procedural misunderstandings. Kozinski dissented, disagreeing that there had been a formal error and stating:

"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."

This opinion, that correct proceedings were more important than preventing a judicial error that would result in an execution, was vehemently opposed by his old friend Judge Reinhardt, who called it "bizarre and horrifying" and "unworthy of any jurist".Bazelon, Emily. [http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/January-February-2004/feature_bazelon_janfeb04.msp The Big Kozinski] . "LegalAffairs", January-February 2004. Retrieved on April 30, 2006.] The Ninth Circuit's judgment was reversed on appeal by the Supreme Court, which called the Ninth Circuit's action "a grave abuse of discretion." [cite court
litigants=Calderon v. Thompson
vol=523
reporter=U.S.
opinion=538
pinpoint=542
court=
date=1998
url=http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/97-215.ZS.html]

"White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc."

Kozinski dissented in an appeal filed by Vanna White against Samsung for depicting a robot on a Wheel of Fortune set, in a humorous advertisement. While the Ninth Circuit held in favor of White, Kozinski dissented, stating that "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." [", 989 F.2d 1512, 1512 (9th Cir. 1993) (en banc).]

"Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc."

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

"United States v. Isaacs" (recused)

Kozinski was assigned an obscenity case in which Ira Isaacs is accused of distributing videos depicting bestiality and other images, similar to the 1973 "Miller v. California" case. [cite web|author=Kim Zetter |title=Chief Judge in Obscenity Case Caught Posting Porn|date=2008-06-11|work=WIRED|url=http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/chief-judge-in.html] [cite web|author=USLaw |title=What "Stuff" was on Judge Kozinski’s Personal Website?|date=2008-08-11|work=Celebrity Justice|url=http://www.uslaw.com/pop/what-stuff-was-on-judge-kozinskis-personal-website/?p=121] 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 Kozinski's 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 transsexual, 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 agreed that some of the material was inappropriate, but defended other content as "funny."cite web|author=Scott Glover|title=9th Circuit's chief judge posted sexually explicit matter on his website|date=2008-06-11|work=Los Angeles Times|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kozinski12-2008jun12,0,6220192.story]

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—which involves a man running away from a donkey—is available on YouTube, 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 this to breaking and entering a private residence.Lessig, Lawrence (June 12, 2008). [http://lessig.org/blog/2008/06/the_kozinski_mess.html The Kozinski mess] .]

Kozinski initially refused to comment on disqualifying himself,Adam Liptak, "Calif. Trial Focuses on Pornography: Los Angeles Jury Will Decide If Videos Are Obscene," "New York Times", June 12, 2008, A21.] then granted a 48-hour stay after the prosecutor requested time to explore "a potential conflict of interest." 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 9th 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. [Associated Press (June 13, 2008). [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/us/13brfs-JUDGECALLSFO_BRF.html California: Judge Calls for Inquiry Into His Conduct Over Web Site.] ] [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.]

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. [ [http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/06/11/a-look-back-at-judge-kozinskis-attack-against-monitoring-court-computers/ Law Blog - WSJ.com : A Look Back at Judge Kozinski's Attack on Monitoring Court Computers ] ]

On June 15, 2008, it was reported that Kozinski had recused himself from the case. [ [http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Judge_Alex_Kozinski_Removes_Himself_from_Porn_Trial_19017.html eFluxMedia report] ]

Essayist

Kozinski has won admirers across the political spectrum who praise what many admirers feel to be "common sense" decisions, his libertarian instinct, and his sense of humor. As an essayist, his writing is clear and often light-hearted, and has been featured in mainstream publications such as "Slate", "The New Yorker", "The New Republic" and "National Review". He also has a reputation as an active and sometimes intimidating questioner during oral argument. Because English is not his native language, he spoke for years with a strong accent which was often surprising to lawyers who are familiar only with his distinctive writing style.

See also

*List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
*George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates

References

External links

* [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1314 Alex Kozinski profile] via Federal Judicial Center
* [http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/chief_judge_bio.html Chief Judge Alex Kozinski biography] via U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
* [http://alex.kozinski.com/ Personal website] at kozinski.com
* [http://www.newsmeat.com/judiciary_political_donations/Alex_Kozinski.php Campaign contributions made by Judge Alex Kozinski]
* [http://notabug.com/kozinski/ The Unofficial Judge Alex Kozinski Site] : Comprehensive source for writings, press mentions, and more.
* [http://www.kcet.org/lifeandtimes/archives/townhall/305.php Interview with Alex Kozinski and Stephen Reinhardt]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/15/politics/16text-blogs.html NY Times: Judge Kozinski's 'Nomination Letter' to the Judicial Hottie contest.]
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-tobias30nov30,0,651977.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail LA Times: The 9th Circuit's New No. 1]