Judicial SIGHT-ation: Back in the Saddle with "The Easy Rider"

Some time ago -- she's embarrassed to admit exactly how long ago -- Article III Groupie received the following email from a reader:

As I sat with a cup of coffee this morning, lazily switching channels on the television with no real expectation of finding anything interesting, I was stunned to find Judge Alex Kozinski on C-Span! He was addressing a room full of students at Cleveland High School in Reseda, California. The Easy Rider was quite casually going on about such diverse topics as federalism, judicial restraint, how he works with other members of the court to reach resolution from disagreement, whether he finds joy in his job, and how conservatively the death penalty should be imposed.

The discussion was part of a "Students and Leaders" panel [that was] hosted at the school on March 16, 2005. I'm a little hung over, so I can't be positive about that date.... [Judge Kozinski] was wearing those awful glasses and needed a haircut. And, respectfully, he should consider a more regular workout regime. He was straining the collar of his shirt and looking a tiny bit swollen.

In any event, the judge was very engaging and answered the students' questions thoughtfully. He avoided giving simple and predictable responses and instead delivered complex and nuanced answers....

WOW! Although A3G must respectfully dissent from the critical comments concerning the #1 Superhottie's appearance, this email definitely got her very excited. After quickly tracking down the video clip of his appearance, she sat down in front of her computer to hear his words of wisdom. Here's her running commentary (sort of like "liveblogging," but not exactly, since the interview aired well before she was able to watch it):

--We're at Cleveland High School in Reseda, California. Yes, that Reseda, immortalized by Tom Petty in "Free Fallin'": "It's a long day, living in Reseda. There's a freeway, running through the yard." (Apparently this reference to a freeway is inaccurate, according to the Reseda Blog.)

--Judge Kozinski is introduced by the poised and pretty Kidada Malloy, who proudly identifies herself as "co-founder and co-president of the Junior Tree People Club."

--Not preceded by any court crier, Judge Kozinski casually takes the "stage" (i.e., the area at the front of the classroom). Despite their physical proximity, a yawning chasm separates Judge Kozinski, a federal appellate judge and possible Supreme Court nominee, from the assembled gaggle of pimply high schoolers. But Judge Kozinski commendably tries to bridge that gap, with a friendly and relaxed greeting: "Hey guys, how you doin'?"

--Judge Kozinski is wearing a tasteful grey suit, a blue button-down shirt, and a blue tie with gold dots. The Easy Rider is looking mighty fine; A3G tries not to drool on her keyboard...

--Judge Kozinski starts telling the story of his path to the bench. Most of this is old hat to A3G, a longtime Kozinski fan. But she does learn more about the important role played by the movies (e.g., "12 Angry Men") in inspiring Judge Kozinski to go into the law.

--AK (matter-of-factly): "In the U.S., the way you become a judge is to get involved in politics." How true!

--Judge Kozinski mentions to the students that he clerked for then-Judge Kennedy and Chief Justice Burger. The camera pans to the students. Their jaws have not dropped, their eyes remain in their sockets, and no one has fainted. Their faces are blank; they clearly have no clue as to the meaning and importance of these clerkships. Heck, Judge Kozinski might as well be telling them he once worked at In-N-Out Burger. How charming!

--After Judge Kozinski finishes telling the students about how he became a judge, he opens the floor to questions. The questions are surprisingly intelligent, and Judge Kozinski compliments the students on their insightful inquiries.

--One student asks the judge how he prevents his political ideology from influencing his judicial decisions. Judge Kozinski explains that if he comes to a preliminary conclusion about a case that is inconsistent with the result that his own personal views would favor, he feels pretty comfortable that he has reached the right decision. But when his preliminary conclusion happens to favor the party that he sympathizes with, he subjects his analysis to even closer scrutiny. Judge Kozinski's integrity, intellectual honesty, and commitment to "calling them as he sees them" are what make him such a great jurist.

--A3G can't help noticing how skillfully Judge Kozinski works the crowd -- a reminder that he used to be in politics. She admires how casually he drops the questioner's name ("Charles") into his response to one inquiry.

--A highly attractive young woman named Ebony -- who probably will, in a few years, be eligible for America's Next Top Model -- asks Judge Kozinski for his advice about how to become a judge.* In the course of his response, Judge Kozinski reminds the students that the key thing is to love what you do: "It is very hard to be good at something you don't love." (Point well-taken: A3G can name a number of federal judges who enjoy the pomp, the prestige, and being called "Your Honor," but who don't really enjoy their jobs...)

--The discussion turns to various hot-button topics, including gay marriage, judicial activism, and the death penalty.** Judge Kozinski offers insightful, candid, and highly substantive responses; despite the sensitive nature of the topics, he does not duck or dodge the questions. The only subject he declines to touch is the Michael Jackson case, currently pending in state court. (A3G will not summarize The Easy Rider's comments here -- she encourages you all to watch this extremely interesting speech for yourselves!)

--High school debater Cameron Roth -- who's kinda cute, in a Seth Cohen sort of way -- asks Judge Kozinski for advice about how to explore his interest in the law. Judge Kozinski's advice to young Cameron? Watch My Cousin Vinny! The correspondent who brought this event to A3G's attention explains The Easy Rider's movie recommendation thusly:

[Judge Kozinski] said that [the film] captured an important aspect of the practice of law and instructed the student to take close notice of how everyone in the movie just did his or her job. The lesson in the film, in Judge Kozinski's view, was that there was no "bad guy" in the proceedings (aside from the somewhat stern judge). He said, practicing law requires you to work with people without vilifying them.

--A student named Elizabeth asks a question along these lines (A3G is paraphrasing): "Do you ever ask yourself, 'Do I feel good, in this place, being a judge?' Do you feel comfortable being a judge? Do you ever get put down by other judges?" A3G's correspondent offers this account of the question and AK's answer:

Another student asked the EZ Rider about the tone of discussion at the Ninth Circuit and how the judges settled disputes among themselves in cases. Judge Kozinski laughed and said that while he often disagrees strongly with the conclusions of some of his colleagues -- "and indeed, sometimes ten at a time" -- the judges on any given panel, in his experience, maintain friendships and good working relationships despite their divergent views in certain areas.

Judge Kozinski then mentioned that such is not the case in some other courts of appeal, where he said various judges do not work to be respectful of their dissenting colleagues and the working environment is characterized by animosity. He did not reveal to which court/(s) he was referring.

A3G can't help wondering: Is Judge Kozinski being a little too diplomatic in this response? After all, the notoriously contentious Ninth Circuit is the court where the term "bench-slap" was invented. Heck, even the liberals on the court can't agree with each other!***

The event concludes with the official presentation of a key chain and lapel pin to Judge Kozinski, as well as a photo opportunity with the photogenic judicial hottie. As the video fades out, one can see the junior "Article III groupies" mobbing The Easy Rider, greedily seeking even more face time with this brilliant jurist...

As A3G watches the students getting up close and personal with the top-ranked judicial superhottie, she starts to feel the pangs of jealousy. But then she stops herself and says, "Kidada, Ebony, Elizabeth: The Easy Rider spent one fleeting afternoon with you. Has he ever cyber-whispered sweet nothings in your ear -- or emailed you exclusive pics of him scuba-diving?"

Okay, girls, let's make a deal. You let A3G keep Judge Kozinski all to herself. In exchange, you get dibs on his hottie son, Wyatt Kozinski, who's closer to your age anyway. (Click on the thumbnail above for a closer look at Wyatt's nicely toned right bicep!)

* To Ebony and all others interested in advice on how to become a federal judge, A3G enthusiastically endorses this piece by Judge Kozinski, "So You Want to Become a Federal Judge By 35" (pdf).

** Judge Kozinski discussed the death penalty extensively in a fascinating piece in the February 10, 1997 issue of the New Yorker; the piece should eventually be posted on the Judge Kozinski fan site (article listed as "to be scanned").

*** See, e.g., United States v. Alvarez-Gutierrez, 394 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. Jan. 14, 2005). In the words of the UTR reader who brought this opinion to A3G's attention: "This is, so far as I know, the first time Darth Vader has filed a dissenting opinion from the Emperor's left... Is civil war brewing on the dark side?"

Additional commentary on the case is available here ("[The outcome is] a compliment to Judge Reinhardt and a (tiny) backhanded slam on Judge Berzon. I mean, when you can't even get Judge Reinhardt to buy into your argument on behalf of an illegal alien in a criminal case, you gotta be doing something wrong.").

Comments

[david crosby]

In 1985, former Byrds guitarist Chris Hillman recalled his time living at "Burrito Manor" in Reseda, CA with fellow ex-Byrd, Gram Parsons, as one most creatively fruitful periods for the two, who by then had formed the legendary alt. country band the Flying Burrito Brothers:

"To this day the most productive time I've ever had, including all the bands I was ever in, the most productive time was living with [Parsons] in Reseda in 1968 when I was getting a divorce and so was he and we shared a house and we were putting the Burritos together then. We didn't have a drummer, we had Chris Ethridge and Sneaky Pete. We woke up in the morning and we would write every morning.... It was a great time. To this day I've never peaked like that working with other people."

The two wrote some of the most memorable tunes of both their careers during this period, including "Christine's Tune (Devil in Disguise)," "Wheels," "Juanita," and "Sin City," Hillman's jab at Byrds manager Larry Spector.

[gram]

three notable former cleavland high school cavaliers:

(1) Harvey Levin, Class of 1968 - Co-Producer, "Peoples Court"

http://celebrityjustice.warnerbros.com/about/producers/harvey.html

(2) Pamela Miller, Class of 1966-Author [and famous lusty groupie, herself] (Pamela Des Barres)

http://www.swinginchicks.com/pamela_desbarres.htm

(3) Max Boot, Class of 1987, Editor "Wall Street Journal", Author

http://www.cfr.org/bio.php?id=5641

[JW]

More on Reseda: In Boogie Nights, the disco where Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) discovers Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) is located in Reseda.

Easy Rider, indeed.

[gram]

Re: Reseda, CA. (and Ralph Macchio)---

The Karate Kid is about a teenaged boy, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), who moves with his mother from New Jersey to the San Fernando Valley town of Reseda, CA. The handyman of their apartment building is a kindly and humble Okinawan immigrant named Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).

The last night of summer, Daniel and his new friends, including Ali (Elisabeth Shue), are at the beach, when Ali's boyfriend Johnny (William Zabka) and his friends, pull up on motorcycles. Johnny and Ali begin arguing, and Ali blasts a radio. Angered, Johnny throws the radio to the ground. Daniel moves to pick it up, and ignores Johnny's warning not to get involved. Soon Daniel and Johnny fight, but Daniel loses. Unwittingly, Daniel has made an enemy of one of Cobra Kai karate dojo's best students. This "Cobra Kai" dojo is an arguably over-the-top portrayal of a sadistic, macho, and prideful form of martial arts, perhaps a symbolic representation of the "dark side" of martial arts.

Johnny and his cronies torment Daniel as much as they can. When Daniel retaliates with a prank at a Halloween dance, he is pursued by Johnny and his friends, who proceed to beat him until he can barely stand. Just then, Mr. Miyagi intervenes and rescues Daniel in a surprising display of karate. Daniel, upon learning this, asks Mr. Miyagi to be his teacher, or sensei.

With some persuasion, Miyagi agrees to accompany Daniel to confront the sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo and insist that he tell his students to stop their harassment of Daniel. However, the sensei, Kreese (Martin Kove), is a vicious fighter who regularly barks out condemnations of mercy or restraint. To settle the matter, Miyagi announces Daniel will enter a Valley-wide tournament where Cobra Kai students can fight Daniel on equal terms. Miyagi also requests that Johnny and his friends stop bullying Daniel in the interim while the boy is trained. Kreese assents and orders his students to leave Daniel alone, but threatens that if Daniel does not appear at the tournament, the harassment will resume and Miyagi himself will be targeted as well.

Mr. Miyagi becomes Daniel's surrogate father, but Daniel is impatient and sometimes puzzled by Miyagi's teaching methods and behavior. For instance, instead of standard instruction, Miyagi initially has Daniel spend the day performing laborious chores (most famously, waxing the car) which he insists must be done with specific hand and arm movements. Eventually, Daniel angrily confronts Miyagi about this labor and Miyagi shows him that in doing those chores with those movements, Daniel has in fact being subconsciously learning his defensive blocks, the vital first step in karate training. As the training continues, Miyagi instructs Daniel in such techniques such as the famous arms-spread-like-wings one legged kick to the chin called the Crane Kick. As the story and the training move on, Daniel learns from Miyagi not only karate, but also about life, and the role of such values as balance. This reflects the belief that martial arts training is about training of the spirit as much as the body.

At the tournament, Daniel is still an underdog. Miyagi has trained him well, however; in a final scene made in true Avildsen fashion, an injured Daniel, barely able to stand, beats his final opponent, none other than Johnny, by using the Crane Kick. At the end of the movie, Johnny acknowledges Daniel respectfully while Miyagi looks on approvingly.

The Karate Kid spawned an entire franchise of related items and memorabilia, such as action figures, head bands, posters, t-shirts, etc. It also had three sequels, and it launched the careers of Macchio, who would turn into a teen idol featured on the covers of magazines such as Tiger Beat, Morita, who made several other movies including the three sequels, and Elisabeth Shue. It has also been credited with renewing youth interest in martial arts, with an emphasis on personal discipline rather than the often gratuitous and cinematic violence that martial arts films are known for. The characters of Daniel and his mother are noteworthy as positive media portrayals of Italian Americans.

Its last sequel, The Next Karate Kid (1994), launched the career of actress Hilary Swank, who played Mr. Miyagi's new female student.

[gram]

RE: Reseda, CA and R. Macchio---

The Karate Kid is about a teenaged boy, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), who moves with his mother from New Jersey to the San Fernando Valley town of Reseda, CA. The handyman of their apartment building is a kindly and humble Okinawan immigrant named Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita, stunt work by Fumio Demura).

The last night of summer, Daniel and his new friends, including Ali (Elisabeth Shue), are at the beach, when Ali's boyfriend Johnny (William Zabka) and his friends, pull up on motorcycles. Johnny and Ali begin arguing, and Ali blasts a radio. Angered, Johnny throws the radio to the ground. Daniel moves to pick it up, and ignores Johnny's warning not to get involved. Soon Daniel and Johnny fight, but Daniel loses. Unwittingly, Daniel has made an enemy of one of Cobra Kai karate dojo's best students. This "Cobra Kai" dojo is an arguably over-the-top portrayal of a sadistic, macho, and prideful form of martial arts, perhaps a symbolic representation of the "dark side" of martial arts.

Johnny and his cronies torment Daniel as much as they can. When Daniel retaliates with a prank at a Halloween dance, he is pursued by Johnny and his friends, who proceed to beat him until he can barely stand. Just then, Mr. Miyagi intervenes and rescues Daniel in a surprising display of karate. Daniel, upon learning this, asks Mr. Miyagi to be his teacher, or sensei.

With some persuasion, Miyagi agrees to accompany Daniel to confront the sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo and insist that he tell his students to stop their harassment of Daniel. However, the sensei, Kreese (Martin Kove), is a vicious fighter who regularly barks out condemnations of mercy or restraint. To settle the matter, Miyagi announces Daniel will enter a Valley-wide tournament where Cobra Kai students can fight Daniel on equal terms. Miyagi also requests that Johnny and his friends stop bullying Daniel in the interim while the boy is trained. Kreese assents and orders his students to leave Daniel alone, but threatens that if Daniel does not appear at the tournament, the harassment will resume and Miyagi himself will be targeted as well.

Mr. Miyagi becomes Daniel's surrogate father, but Daniel is impatient and sometimes puzzled by Miyagi's teaching methods and behavior. For instance, instead of standard instruction, Miyagi initially has Daniel spend the day performing laborious chores (most famously, waxing the car) which he insists must be done with specific hand and arm movements. Eventually, Daniel angrily confronts Miyagi about this labor and Miyagi shows him that in doing those chores with those movements, Daniel has in fact being subconsciously learning his defensive blocks, the vital first step in karate training. As the training continues, Miyagi instructs Daniel in such techniques such as the famous arms-spread-like-wings one legged kick to the chin called the Crane Kick. As the story and the training move on, Daniel learns from Miyagi not only karate, but also about life, and the role of such values as balance. This reflects the belief that martial arts training is about training of the spirit as much as the body.

At the tournament, Daniel is still an underdog. Miyagi has trained him well, however; in a final scene made in true Avildsen fashion, an injured Daniel, barely able to stand, beats his final opponent, none other than Johnny, by using the Crane Kick. At the end of the movie, Johnny acknowledges Daniel respectfully while Miyagi looks on approvingly.

The Karate Kid spawned an entire franchise of related items and memorabilia, such as action figures, head bands, posters, t-shirts, etc. It also had three sequels, and it launched the careers of Macchio, who would turn into a teen idol featured on the covers of magazines such as Tiger Beat, Morita, who made several other movies including the three sequels, and Elisabeth Shue. It has also been credited with renewing youth interest in martial arts, with an emphasis on personal discipline rather than the often gratuitous and cinematic violence that martial arts films are known for. The characters of Daniel and his mother are noteworthy as positive media portrayals of Italian Americans.

Its last sequel, The Next Karate Kid (1994), launched the career of actress Hilary Swank, who played Mr. Miyagi's new female student.

[Klaas]

Another Reseda reference of note:
"You are going to Reseda, to make love to a model from Ohio whose real name you don't know."
-Soul Coughing, "Screenwriter's Blues"