Alex Kozinski
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and confirmed by the Senate 54–43, Alex Kozinski was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law in 1975. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1950 · age 76
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1985
- Confirmed
- 54–43
- Chief judge
- Ninth Circuit, 2007 to 2014
- Education
- University of California, Los Angeles 1972 · University of California, Los Angeles, Law 1975
- Succeeded by
- Daniel Aaron Bress
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Ninth Circuit chief judge 2007 to 2014 | Reagan (R) | 54–43 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
The Senate’s published per-senator roll-call records begin in 1989, so no senator-by-senator breakdown is available for this vote.
Education
| University of California, Los Angeles | A.B. | 1972 |
| University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law | J.D. | 1975 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Law clerk, Hon. Anthony Kennedy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | 1975-1976 |
| Law clerk, Hon. Warren Burger, Supreme Court of the United States | 1976-1977 |
| Private practice, Los Angeles, California | 1977-1979 |
| Private practice, Washington, D.C. | 1979-1981 |
| Deputy legal counsel, President-Elect Ronald Reagan | 1980-1981 |
| Assistant counsel, Office of Counsel to the President | 1981 |
| Special counsel, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board | 1981-1982 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 2007-2014 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Kozinski authored 103 published opinions for the court (2008–2012). Most cited: Moreno v. City of Sacramento (787 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Moreno v. City of Sacramento | 534 F.3d 1106 | 787 |
| 2011 | Destfino v. Reiswig | 630 F.3d 952 | 337 |
| 2009 | Mendez-Castro v. Mukasey | 552 F.3d 975 | 315 |
| 2008 | Berson v. Applied Signal Technology, Inc. | 527 F.3d 982 | 187 |
| 2011 | Pagayon v. Holder | 675 F.3d 1182 | 139 |
| 2008 | Clark v. Time Warner Cable | 523 F.3d 1110 | 133 |
| 2011 | United States v. Estate of Stonehill | 660 F.3d 415 | 125 |
| 2010 | Jules Jordan Video, Inc. v. 144942 Canada Inc. | 617 F.3d 1146 | 102 |
| 2008 | Ibrahim v. Department of Homeland Security | 538 F.3d 1250 | 97 |
| 2012 | Pacific Pictures Corp. v. United States District Court | 679 F.3d 1121 | 92 |
| 2010 | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions | 620 F.3d 1103 | 68 |
| 2008 | John v. City of El Monte | 515 F.3d 936 | 61 |
| 2010 | Johnson v. Gruma Corp. | 614 F.3d 1062 | 46 |
| 2010 | Guggenheim v. City of Goleta | 638 F.3d 1111 | 45 |
| 2008 | Sgro v. Danone Waters of North America, Inc. | 532 F.3d 940 | 45 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 103 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Alex Kozinski?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Alex Kozinski to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1985.
- Was Alex Kozinski appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Alex Kozinski was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Alex Kozinski's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Alex Kozinski 54–43 on November 7, 1985.
- Which court was Alex Kozinski on?
- Alex Kozinski was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Administrative Office of the United States Courts (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
32 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).