'Danger to Due Process': Frequent Kozinski Foe Calls for Ex-Judge's Disbarment in Lawsuit
Attorney Cyrus Sanai filed complaints against Alex Kozinski more than a decade ago over the former Ninth Circuit chief judge's public server which contained pornographic material. Now, Sanai says he's suing to clear his own name and reform judicial misconduct procedures in the process.
December 17, 2019 at 12:16 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Recorder
Alex Kozinski. (Courtesy photo)
An attorney who filed a complaint over Alex Kozinski's personal web server containing pornography more than a decade ago has sued the former circuit judge over claims the judge encouraged the court to retaliate against him.
Cyrus Sanai, who is representing himself in suing the former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, told The Recorder the suit is less about the $40 million he is seeking and more about clearing his name and reforming judicial misconduct procedures. Kozinski retired two years ago, heading off an investigation into claims of sexual misconduct lodged by several of his former clerks.
In Sanai's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Monday, the Beverly Hills lawyer claims the judiciary knew about Kozinski's pattern of harassment back in 2009 when the Third Circuit Judicial Council investigated Kozinski's publicly accessible server which contained porn. Sanai's lawsuit claims Kozinski's colleagues on the bench helped bury the issue.
Sanai alleges that Kozinski committed perjury when he denied ever showing the sexually explicit photos and videos on the server to anyone in his official capacity as a judge. That would make Kozinski vulnerable to losing his law license.
Six years after the Third Circuit investigation, more than a dozen women came forward with sexual harassment allegations against Kozinski, some claiming he forced them to view pornographic images.
Kozinski did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday afternoon.
Sanai is asking for injunctive relief for alleged violation of his constitutional rights over claims the Ninth Circuit retaliated against him for filing a complaint about Kozinski's server. The Judicial Council issued a censure order against Sanai in 2010, and he claims the Council tried to disbar him in California.
Sanai was censured for filing a possibly frivolous misconduct complaint, according to the September 2010 order.
In addition to Kozinski, the suit names a handful of judges who Sanai alleges participated in retaliation against him, including Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Sidney Thomas, and Circuit Judges M. Margaret McKeown, Ronald Gould and Johnnie Rawlinson. A spokesperson for the court didn't respond to messages Monday evening.
Besides violation of constitutional rights, Sanai is bringing eight other causes of action in the suit including abuse of process; malicious prosecution; and wrongful use of administrative proceedings.
"Kozinski needs to be removed as a lawyer," Sanai said. "He's a danger to due process."
Read more:
Alex Kozinski Returns to the 9th Circuit (as a Lawyer)
Alex Kozinski Set to Return to 9th Circuit as Oral Advocate
Judge Alex Kozinski, Apologizing Amid Harassment Claims, Retires Immediately
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
'Something Else Is Coming': DOGE Established, but With Limited Scope
Supreme Court Considers Reviving Lawsuit Over Fatal Traffic Stop Shooting
US DOJ Threatens to Prosecute Local Officials Who Don't Aid Immigration Enforcement
3 minute read
US Judge Cannon Blocks DOJ From Releasing Final Report in Trump Documents Probe
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1NJ Supreme Court Clarifies Affidavit of Merit Requirement for Doctor With Dual Specialties
- 2Whether to Choose State or Federal Court in a Case Involving a Franchise?
- 3Am Law 200 Firms Announce Wave of D.C. Hires in White-Collar, Antitrust, Litigation Practices
- 4K&L Gates Files String of Suits Against Electronics Manufacturer's Competitors, Brightness Misrepresentations
- 5'Better of the Split': District Judge Weighs Circuit Divide in Considering Who Pays Decades-Old Medical Bill
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
