Pardon the errors folks, but I’m laughing so damn hard, I can’t type. This breaking news concerning the 9th Circuit, which has before it, the frivolous lawsuit filed by OOIDA, The Teamsters, The Sierra Club and others, over the Cross Border Program. Perhaps this is the reason OOIDA’s Fast Track has not produced a ruling.
LOS ANGELES – The chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals posted sexually explicit photos and videos on a Web site he maintained that he has now blocked to the public, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday on its Web site.
The revelation about Judge Alex Kozinski came as opening statements were under way in an obscenity trial he is presiding over in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
Kozinski, 57, told the Times that he thought the material on his Web site, which included a video of a man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal, couldn’t be seen by the public. He took the site down and said he didn’t believe any of the images were obscene.
“Is it prurient? I don’t know what to tell you,” he told the newspaper. “I think it’s odd and interesting. It’s part of life.”
Kozinski became the youngest federal appeals court judge in the nation when he was appointed at age 35 to the bench by former President Ronald Reagan in 1985. He is known as a strong defender of free speech and First Amendment rights.
He is currently overseeing a trial in which Los Angeles businessman Ira Isaacs is accused of breaking U.S. obscenity laws by selling pornographic movies that depict extreme fetishes. Kozinski was assigned to the case under a program in which appellate judges occasionally handle criminal trials at the district court level.
Isaacs’ defense attorney Roger Diamond said outside of court he was unaware of the Times report and declined to comment. A phone message left with a spokesman for the 9th Circuit was not immediately returned. Department of Justice spokeswoman Laura Sweeney declined comment.
Before the site was taken down, visitors to alex.kozinski.com saw a message: “Ain’t nothin’ here. Y’all best be movin’ on, compadre.” Visitors who knew about a subdirectory could see the materials that also included some of Kozinski’s legal writings and personal photos, the Times said.
Jean Rosenbluth, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at University of Southern California, said she had not seen the contents on Kozinski’s Web site but added the judge should recuse himself to ensure there is no conflict of interest.
“He should do the right thing and step down,” Rosenbluth said. “There’s such an importance that the public perceive justice be fairly administered.
Trial jurors were scheduled to travel Wednesday afternoon to the 9th Circuit’s Southern California building in suburban Pasadena to view the movies, which depict bestiality and fetishes involving feces and urine. The panel includes eight men and six women. Two will be designated alternates later in the trial.
Jurors will be asked to decide whether or not the films are obscene under federal law.
They must decide if the films appeal to a loathsome or degrading type of sexual intercourse and whether the sexual conduct is “patently offensive,” judging by the community’s standards.
Isaacs, 57, is charged with four counts, including importation or transportation of obscene material for sale. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Prosecutors also are seeking forfeiture of assets obtained through his video sales. Two of the original six counts in his indictment were dropped.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times & Associated Press
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