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US: Judge Kozinski steps down due to sexual allegations

 |  December 18, 2017

Judge Alex Kozinski, the veteran judge of the Ninth Circuit who is facing a judicial inquiry over accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior, announced Monday that he is immediately retiring from the court.

In a statement provided by his lawyer, Kozinski apologized, saying that he “had a broad sense of humor and a candid way of speaking to both male and female law clerks alike” and that, “in doing so, 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,” he said. “For this I sincerely apologize.”

Kozinski, 67, said that although family and friends had urged him to stay on, “at least long enough to defend myself,” he “cannot be an effective judge and simultaneously fight this battle. Nor would such a battle be good for my beloved federal judiciary. And so I am making the decision to retire, effective immediately.”

The announcement came just days after The Washington Post reported that nine more women had accused Kozinski of making sexual comments to them or of other conduct, including four who said he touched them inappropriately. That story followed an earlier report in The Post, which detailed the allegations of six women, including former clerks who said Kozinski showed them porn in his chambers.

Full Content: CNN and Chicago Tribune

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