U.S. appeals judge steps down amid harassment inquiry

Alex Kozinski, a renowned U.S. federal appeals court judge based in San Francisco, resigned on Monday after the court's chief judge initiated an inquiry into harassment accusations, Kozinski said in a statement.The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judge said he was retiring immediately from the lifetime appointment to avoid being a distraction for the federal judiciary.The Washington Post, which on Monday first reported the retirement, said earlier this month that six women had come forward to