With former Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski set to return to his old court as an oral advocate next week, Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth released the following statement:

“That a serial harasser is allowed to make a comeback without making amends is shameful. It’s also the exact reason we’ve called for an amendment to the judicial misconduct statute that would ensure judges can’t simply retire to make their misconduct cases disappear.

“Keeping complaints alive post-retirement would send a strong signal to current and former members of the judiciary that there are long-term consequences for their actions and that any attempt to return to public life may be marred by a thorough misconduct investigation — and not merely a banal dismissal of charges, as happened with Kozinski.

“Continuing the misconduct process would also signal to other legal bodies, like state bar associations, that they’d be welcome to act, as well.”

Also, why does this exist? Gross.