Alex Kozinski, Veteran Federal Appeals Judge, Quits Amid Sex Allegations

Judge Alex Kozinski, a 32-year veteran of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the circuit's former chief jurist, announced his immediate retirement Monday amid allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct from at least 15 women.

Kozinski said in a statement that a battle over the accusations would harm his ability to do his job and hurt the judiciary itself.

"Family and friends have urged me to stay on, at least long enough to defend myself," Kozinski wrote. "But I cannot be an effective judge and simultaneously fight this battle. Nor would such a battle be good for my beloved federal judiciary."

The Washington Post reported last week on the rapidly growing number of allegations against the judge. The accusations, which go back decades, include inappropriate touching, lewd comments and asking female clerks to view pornography.

Kozinski's departure from the bench comes just days after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts approved the transfer of a judicial inquiry into the allegations to the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In his statement Monday, Kozinski said that while speaking in a "candid way" with male and female law clerks, "I may not have been mindful enough of the special challenges and pressures that women face in the workplace. It grieves me to learn that I caused any of my clerks to feel uncomfortable; this was never my intent. For this I sincerely apologize."

Leah Litman, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, told the Post that the judge talked about having just had sex and pinched her side and leg at a restaurant the night before they appeared together on a panel at her school in July.

Christine Miller, a retired U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge, said Kozinski grabbed her breasts during a car ride in 1986 after a legal community function in the Baltimore area. She said it came after she declined his offer to go to a motel and have sex.

A lawyer who was not identified said Kozinski approached her when she was alone at a legal event in Los Angeles in 2008 and kissed her on the lips and gave her a bear hug with no warning.

The Post said the woman's husband confirmed the incident and said the couple didn't think they could do anything because of the judge's position.

The Post also reported last week that six former clerks or more junior staff members accused Kozinski of inappropriate behavior, including showing them pornography.

Kozinski, 67, a native of Bucharest, Romania, was named to the 9th Circuit by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and served as its chief judge from 2007 to 2014. He is known for his irreverent opinions, and his clerks often win prestigious clerkships at the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I firmly believe that a strong judiciary, free from political pressures, is vital to the preservation of this great nation," Kozinski's statement said. "I found in this country, and in my work, opportunities and satisfaction that I never thought imaginable when I arrived here, at the age of 12, a refugee from Communism."

This story contains reporting from The Associated Press.