Note to Lawyers and Judges, Signed Judge Kozinksi

[WSJ Law Blog]

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski admonished judged and lawyers in another colorful opinion Thursday.

oward Bashman, on his How Appealing blog, found this gem of an opinion by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit, and now, LBers, we present it to you.

It begins:

This is a strange case. Its resolution hinges on the absence, as a factual matter, of something we must accept as a legal matter. There are unlikely to be many more like it, so this opinion’s precedential value is probably limited. We nevertheless publish pursuant to General Order 4.3. While we’re at it, we offer some advice to lawyers: Don’t apologize unless you’re sure you did something wrong. And there’s also a lesson for district judges: Don’t accept too readily lawyers’ confessions of error or rely on your own memory of what happened. Trials are complicated and we sometimes misremember details. That’s why we have transcripts.

The case is indeed weird. But bear with us.

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