Sanai v. Kozinski

Background

Cyrus Sanai, who was representing himself, sued several federal and state judges and court officials whom he believed were protecting former circuit judge Alex Kozinski and retaliating against Sanai for his advocacy concerning judicial misconduct complaints. Judge Gonzalez Rogers had previously dismissed Sanai’s complaint with prejudice on judicial-immunity and other grounds and entered judgment. Sanai then sought her recusal under 28 U.S.C. § 455, along with disclosures and discovery concerning alleged bias. He also sought discovery involving Judge Donato and requested depositions of several judges, including Judge Gonzalez Rogers and circuit judges named in the discovery request.

Judge Donato’s analysis

Judge Donato addressed Sanai’s apparent request that he recuse himself from deciding the motion against Judge Gonzalez Rogers. He denied that request, concluding that Sanai had not identified a good reason for Judge Donato to decline the matter. Sanai argued that Judge Donato’s former law-clerk service for Judge Procter R. Hug created bias because Judge Hug had been named as a defendant in Sanai’s lawsuit. Judge Donato rejected that theory, explaining that Judge Hug was deceased and could not be a party to the federal lawsuit, and that the case could not produce a judgment against him.

The court explained that Section 455 requires a judge to disqualify himself when impartiality might reasonably be questioned or when specified circumstances exist, such as personal bias or personal knowledge of disputed facts. The court said the statute is directed to the judge and does not give a litigant a statutory right to demand disclosures or discovery from a judge. Although some factual inquiry might be possible when relevant to the recusal issue, the discovery Sanai requested did not meet that relevance requirement.

Sanai’s main theory was that Judge Gonzalez Rogers had a financial interest because circuit judges were paid more than district judges and she allegedly sought a circuit-judge nomination. He also argued that circuit judges could influence the nomination process. Judge Donato found these allegations unreasonable, speculative, and unsupported by evidence, and explained that circuit judges do not nominate or confirm federal judicial nominees. The court also rejected Sanai’s additional theories, including his claims concerning alleged plagiarism and Judge Gonzalez Rogers’s prior rulings, noting that judicial rulings alone almost never establish bias.

Disposition

The motion to recuse Judge Gonzalez Rogers and the associated motions for disclosure and discovery were denied. The request for judicial notice and the administrative motion to shorten the time to file a motion for post-judgment discovery were denied as moot. The order did not revisit the earlier dismissal of Sanai’s complaint.

Effect

The ruling left Judge Gonzalez Rogers’s earlier dismissal in place and denied Sanai’s requests to obtain recusal, disclosures, or discovery relating to alleged judicial bias.