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title: "Alex Kozinski | KnowJudges"
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# Alex Kozinski

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1985-present
- Assistant counsel, Office of Counsel to the President, 1981-present
- He held the position of Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit from 2007 to 2014
- Alex Kozinski BIOGRAPHY Honorable Alex Kozinski Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge Kozinski was appointed United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit on November 7, 1985, and became Chief Judge on November 30, 2007
- Began his federal judicial service as Chief Judge of the United States Claims Court from 1982 to 1985
- Law clerk, Hon. Warren Burger, Supreme Court of the United States, 1976-1977
- Law clerk, Hon. Anthony Kennedy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1975-1976
- During his tenure, Kozinski was recognized for his influence in intellectual property law and for mentoring law clerks, many of whom went on to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court
- He continues to be active in the legal field as an attorney specializing in appellate and intellectual property law

### Education

- University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law in — J.D. (1975)

### Additional information

- Chief of Trial Division, U.S. Court of Claims, 1982-present
- Nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1985, confirmed by the Senate, and served until his retirement in December 2017.
- Special counsel, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1981-1982
- Deputy legal counsel, President-Elect Ronald Reagan, 1980-1981
- Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1979-1981
- Private practice, Los Angeles, CA, 1977-1979
- He emigrated to the United States in 1962 and later pursued higher education at UCLA, earning an A.B. in economics in 1972 and a J.D. from UCLA Law School in 1975, where he was managing editor of the UCLA Law Review and ranked first in his class.
- Alex Kozinski was born on July 23, 1950, in Bucharest, Romania, to a Romanian Jewish family; both of his parents were Holocaust survivors.
- Date of birth: 1950-01-01
- After leaving the bench, Kozinski returned to legal practice and has represented clients before the Ninth Circuit, including in high-profile intellectual property cases.
- John Marshall High School
- Kozinski is married to Marcy Jane Tiffany and has three children and three grandchildren.
- His early life experiences, including growing up under a communist regime and emigrating to the U.S., shaped his perspectives and career trajectory.
- Alex Kozinski remains a notable figure in American law, both for his judicial contributions and the controversies that marked the end of his career.
- Birth place: Bucharest, Hungary

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1817/alex-kozinski/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1817/alex-kozinski/)
- [Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1817/alex-kozinski/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1817/alex-kozinski/)
- [Alex Kozinski](https://www.nmid.uscourts.gov/sites/nmid/files/documents/districtconference/2014-dc-bio-kozinski.pdf)
- [Alex Kozinski](https://ballotpedia.org/Alex_Kozinski)
- [Wikidata: Alex Kozinski](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4717318)

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