Chrissy Mazzeo’s lawyer, judge at loggerheads; Hunt threatens sanctions

Civil rights lawyer Robert Kossack has a reputation for going to the mat for his clients.

And he’s doing that for Chrissy Mazzeo, the cocktail waitress who filed suit over her late-night confrontation with Gov. Jim Gibbons outside a Las Vegas restaurant in 2006.

But Kossack’s zeal for a good fight hasn’t scored him points with the judge presiding over Mazzeo’s lawsuit.

Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt takes Kossack to task in a 12-page order, accusing him of "thumbing his nose at the court" and trying to "undermine the judicial process."

Hunt accuses Kossack of failing to meet deadlines, ignoring court orders and even trying to "strong-arm" the court into reversing a previous decision.

Hunt warns Kossack that he will move to issue sanctions against him if he continues to threaten the "decorum of the court."

Kossack is apologetic for some of his overzealousness, but he says he's determined to keep fighting the establishment in this case.

"We believe all motions and responses we have filed have been appropriate and justified by the rules and case law we have cited and not a thumb of this counsel’s nose at the court," he says.

Kossack adds that his actions were "but a simple commitment by this attorney to not stay down on the mat from a slip, for if title is to pass, you have to knock the champ out for a count of ten."