J. David Ake/AP
Judge Alex Kozinski poses for a portrait in the lobby of a Washington office building, July 24, 2014.
- Several former clerks and externs for a federal court alleged that Judge Alex Kozinski made sexually suggestive comments to them.
- At least two former clerks alleged that he asked them to watch pornography in his chambers.
- "I would never intentionally do anything to offend anyone and it is regrettable that a handful have been offended by something I may have said or done," Kozinski said in a statement.
Six former clerks and externs in the US's largest federal appeals court alleged that Judge Alex Kozinski, a prominent jurist on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, acted inappropriately towards them, including asking at least two women to watch pornography inside his chambers.
Heidi Bond, a former clerk for Kozinski from 2006 to 2007, said that she was asked to go into Kozinski's office on multiple occasions, where she was asked if she was aroused by pornographic images that played on his computer, or if she believed the images were photoshopped, according to a Washington Post report Friday.
"I was in a state of emotional shock, and what I really wanted to do was be as small as possible and make as few movements as possible and to say as little as possible to get out," Bond told the Post.
Bond, who was in her early 30s at the time, said none of the images were related to a case. Her account was confirmed by emails describing the incident that were sent to a friend in 2008.
Konzinski, who was appointed in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan, said in a statement: "I have been a judge for 35 years and during that time have had over 500 employees in my chambers," Kozinski said in a statement to The Post. "I treat all of my employees as family and work very closely with most of them."
"I would never intentionally do anything to offend anyone and it is regrettable that a handful have been offended by something I may have said or done," Kozinski continued.
Paul Sakuma/AP
Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gestures as Chief Judge Mary Schroeder looks on, in this Sept. 22, 2003, photo in San Francisco.
Emily Murphy, another former clerk on the 9th Circuit in 2012, alleged in the report that as she was talking with other clerks about a particular gym that wasn't busy, Kozinski approached her and said that she ought to work out naked if the gym wasn't as occupied.
When people in the group attempted to change the topic, Murphy and others who spoke to The Post, said that Kozinski kept trying to suggest she exercise in the nude.
"It wasn't just clear that he was imagining me naked, he was trying to invite other people - my professional colleagues - to do so as well," Murphy said in The Post. "That was what was humiliating about it."
Another former 9th Circuit Court clerk alleged that she was sitting next to Kozinski during dinner around 5 years ago, when he picked up the tablecloth to see her legs. Kozinski reportedly said to her at the time that he wanted to see if she was "wearing pants because it's cold out."
"It made me uncomfortable, and it didn't seem appropriate," told The Post.
None of the women interviewed by The Post filed formal complaints at the time, the newspaper said. Kozinski reportedly emphasized the jurisprudence of the confidentiality of chamber discussions to at least one of the clerks, and another former clerk appeared to suggest there was no recourse after discovering her complaint would first go to Kozinski himself, before proceeding.
Kozinski has previously been accused of inappropriate conduct, according to The Los Angeles Times. In 2008, it was reported that he kept an email list to send offensive, "off-color material" jokes to colleagues, clerks, and journalists; and he also reportedly maintained a publicly accessible website containing sexually explicit material.
Kozinski, who was presiding over an obscenity trial at the time, acknowledged that he posted the material and said he did not know the website was accessible to the public, the LA Times reported.