Sex Photos Put Federal Judge On Hot Seat

Calif. Chief Appeals Judge Halts Obscenity Trial After Images On His Family's Web Site Go Public

(AP)  Alex Kozinski is more accustomed to appearing on lists to fill U.S. Supreme Court vacancies than in headlines involving pornographic scandals.

But on Wednesday, the chief judge of the country's largest federal appeals court was forced to suspend an obscenity trial he was presiding over after sexually explicit images posted to his family's Web site became public.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Kozinski had posted sexual material on the Web site and then blocked access after being interviewed about it Tuesday evening.

Kozinski, 57, told the Times he thought the material on the site couldn't be seen by the public.

Yale Kozinski, the judge's film editor son, told The New York Times on Wednesday that the site is registered to him and he maintains it. Friends and family are able to post there, he said.

"The fact that it was publicly accessible actually is my fault, too," Yale Kozinski told the newspaper. "I made a mistake in configuring it."

Neither father nor son made clear Wednesday who posted the images in question. Judge Kozinski said earlier that he didn't believe any of them were obscene.

"Is it prurient? I don't know what to tell you," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I think it's odd and interesting. It's part of life."

He suspended until Monday the trial of Ira Isaacs, who is charged with obscenity for selling movies depicting bestiality and extreme fetishes involving feces and urination. Appellate judges such as Kozinski occasionally handle trial court cases.

Kozinski told lawyers in the case he wanted to give them time to consider whether to ask that he be disqualified. Federal prosecutors were discussing their options, Department of Justice lawyer Kenneth Whitted said.

At best, the exposure of his Web site was an embarrassing turn of events for Kozinski, who reached the pinnacle of a long, illustrious and colorful judicial career in November when he was appointed chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over nine western states.

The appointment capped a 26-year career on the bench that began in 1982 at age 32 when he was named chief of the newly created federal claims court, which handles lawsuits related to federal contracts.

Three years later, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the 9th Circuit, making him the youngest federal appellate judge in the country.

President George H.W. Bush seriously considered nominating Kozinski for high court openings in 1990 and 1991, though the jurist hasn't received the same considerations from the current Bush administration.

Still, Kozinski enjoys a sterling reputation as an eloquent opinion writer and a titan on the bench even while his off-the-bench eccentricities run the gamut.

Kozinski, 57, was born in Romania to Holocaust survivors and came to America when he was 12. Six years later, he won a date in 1968 while appearing on the TV show "The Dating Game" after greeting the contestant with "good afternoon, flower of my heart."

He purports to build his own computers and said he was "an authority on snowboarding" while successfully vying to win a gossip blog's contest for "judicial hottie."

He has written video game reviews for the Wall Street Journal, and his prolific commentary on everything from the death penalty to the use of Yiddish in the law has appeared in legal journals and mainstream media alike.

Kozinski is notoriously independent-minded.

Seven years ago, he engaged Washington, D.C., federal court administrators in a battle over Web filters they installed to block porn from government computers. The computer-savvy Kozinski walked into a government computer room in San Francisco and personally disabled the filters for three appellate circuits, including his own, touching off a feud with administrators he ultimately won when they stopped blocking porn.

Kozinski often puts in 80-hour work weeks and is infamous for sending 3 a.m. e-mails to the recent law school graduates who successfully win coveted one-year appointments as his law clerk.

"He has an outlandish personality for a federal judge," said former clerk Harry Susman, a Houston lawyer. "He has a great sense of humor."

It's unclear whether Kozinski faces any court discipline. Circuit judges are appointed for life and can only be fired by Congress, though fellow jurists can impose censures.

Cathy Catterson, circuit executive for the 9th Circuit, said the issue was "a private matter of the judge at this point."

She said the material was on a home server that was maintained "for use by his family" and that it made up only a small percentage of the items, which also included family pictures and documents.

"Most of it was jokes," said Catterson, who hadn't seen the material.

She said that after the story broke, one of the judge's sons called Kozinski to say he had been responsible for uploading some of the material onto the computer. However, she could not say how much or what material was involved.

The Times reported that Kozinski said he must have accidentally uploaded the images to his server while trying to upload something else. He also said he would delete some material, including a picture of nude women on all fours painted to look like cows, which he called "degrading," the paper said.

Before his site was blocked, visitors to the site saw a message: "Ain't nothin' here. Y'all best be movin' on, compadre." Visitors who knew about a subdirectory could see the sexually explicit materials, as well as some of Kozinski's legal writings and personal photos, the Times said.

The judge refused to comment as he left court.

"I'm not going to say anything," he said. "The trial is ongoing."

[neobrian-2009]

He`s a RE-CON ,,,,,W Loves Him !
Sounds like Quite the Character too,..Wonder how he became a Re-Con ? ????? Ohhhhhhh $$$$$$$$ ,...Ca$h talks ,BS walks,...

[dmhphils]

Even chimpanzees can discern that a sexually aroused donkey chasing a man is perverted and obscene, but the judge makes a debate out of it.

WHAT AN IDIOT!!

[keithle1]

I draw the line at beastiality & s e x with underage girls. Everything else is fine. Go for it.

[atlanta1962]

well thanks to half of the u s going for bush lie him and his party has messed up the U S yet people has never wanted to face the truth not much has passed in 2000 years

[atlanta1962]

power has messed up many in washington D C but as long as the big R is in it and they cried out we are for GOD its ok what sick fools

[jchaosv2]

the 9th is a liberal court, so i think it may be more irritating to the conservatives, especially if he identifies himself as one of them. but really who cares, power corrupts. when will people stop being surprised when those that seek power out abuse it?

[xraytwonine]

hahaha this guy''s got a sense of humor and a good understanding of how people behave, so what if he got some stuff so what, it''s stuff he/his family does within his own family.... our "culture" is soooooooooooooo nosy.....

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by DemWatcher at 05:22 PM

I don''t think the liberals barely care. I think it is you guys who are in a quandry.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by fenner at 04:36 PM

Oh, you must be suffering from Hannity and mommy withdrawal. I do apologize, but brainwashing will do that to you. Now, go put on a diaper, you little pervert.

[jntlw-2009]

Just another Republican judge with no morales and full of hypocrisy - just another day of the corrupt Republican domination. I can''t wait for Noverber!!

[hiproductions--2008]

Typical liberal. Block everything that has to do with religion which the majority embraces, while fighting to keep the doors open for everything degrading and perverted which the minority, including this judge, embraces.

[sistatee-2009]

The clown show never stops at the 9th Circus.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by fenner at 04:14 PM

Aren''t you missing Hannity?

[rudy654-2009]

This guy is sitting on an obscenity trial yet has some of the most graphic and extreme pornography you can get.
His actions make him totally unfit to judge on this case.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by gf54564 at 12:24 PM

Oh, and have you personally taken a gander at it???? If not, then you don''t know.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by ov442 at 02:28 PM

I agree with you. This is much ado about nothing. The site is maintained by his son. The article indicates that the son is taking responsibility for what''s on there. If it isn''t illegal, then again, this is nonsense.

[jennasmith2]

yawn........

[kenhamlett]

Hold on folks. Let''s put this in perspective. We all know lawyers are generally scum. Judges are a better class of lawyers on the federal level so this may be as good as it gets in the judicial system.
Compared to sleazy state judges that vary from ho-hum in Washington to the dregs of society in South Carolina this guy is still head and shoulders above the average.
He is even better than most Republicans in Congress.
While I would not visit his web site, if he happened to send photos of his family to me (female only please) I would not complain. The worst I would do is limit him to only having supervised visits with farm animals or ladies painted to simulate them.
He is still the best our judicial system has to offer, God help us all.

[jsilver2th]

Yes-

"President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the 9th Circuit... President George H.W. Bush seriously considered nominating Kozinski for high court openings..."

It''s a great thing we have good Conservative Republicans appointing Judges that just interpret the Constition and aren''t those *** liberal activists- ha ha - what a joke- joining the ranks of Foley and Haggard- Then Larry Craig and Dave Vitter are still in the US Senate- I hate to hear the howl if they were Democrats- Maybe they got some skin on Ann Coulter- ha ha-

[roger_inkart]

Who cares

Posted by ov442 at 02:28 PM : Jun 12, 2008

I would imagine the people he who are in court for obscentity are probably pretty interested.

As usual, this really isn''t about the material itself. You can debate what is and isn''t obscene all day. What we''re going on about the utter hypocrisy of the matter. He''s just another Republican who thinks the rules only apply to others.

[smurfcrusher]

BE A JUDGE!

It''s not just a job, it''s a pleasure!