Six former legal staffers for United States Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski have come forward to allege sexual misconduct, The Washington Post reported 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,” revealed Heidi Bond, who clerked for Judge Kozinski from 2006 to 2007.
Judge Kozinski served as chief judge of the 9th Circuit from 2007 to 2014 and remains on the court to this day. Judge Kozinski was appointed by the appeals court by President Ronald Reagan in 1985.
Another 9th Circuit clerk, Emily Murphy, recounted an incident at a legal reception in San Francisco when Judge Kozinski revealed he was imagining her naked.
“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. “That was what was humiliating about it.”
Two of the six women coming forward to allege sexual misconduct said Judge Kozinski made them watch pornography with him in judge's chambers.
"So, we have for not illegitimate reasons, we have made it much easier to keep track of people and to have the past revealed and in some cases that's justifiable for the protection of society," Judge Kozinski told the Charles Koch Institute in 2015. "But I think we have gone too far. I think there's such a thing as privacy, there's such a thing as forgiveness."
Watch:
