An obscenity trial in Los Angeles has been suspended after the
Los Angeles Times reported that the judge presiding it had posted sexually
explicit photographs and videos on his own website.
The newspaper reported that Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th
US Circuit Court of Appeals had posted sexually explicit material on his
website and then blocked access after he was asked about the issue Tuesday
evening.
Kozinski defended himself, saying that, even though some
of the material was inappropriate, he considered most of the videos funny, rather
than obscene. He also declared he thought the content on his website was
private and had no idea it could be seen by the public.
"Is it prurient? I don't know what to tell you,"
he told the Times. "I think it's odd and interesting. It's part of
life."
One video on Kozinski’s website showed a half-naked man
cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal, while a photo was of nude women
on all fours painted to look like cows. The judge characterized the latter as
"degrading ... and just gross" and said he would delete some of the
material from his site. He also added he never used appeals court computers to
maintain the site.
Kozinski, 57, was named chief judge of the 9th
Circuit last year. Born in Romania as the son of two Holocaust survivors,
Kozinski emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 12. His career was very successful,
with President Ronald Reagan appointing him to the federal bench in 1985. He is
known for being a defender of the 1st Amendment Right to freedom of
speech and expression. Some years ago, the open-minded judge was against the
move initiated by court administrators, who had placed filters on computers
blocking access to pornographic sites and other such materials.
The trial suspended Wednesday by Kozinsky concerned Ira Isaacs,
who is charged with obscenity for selling sexual fetish videos depicting
bestiality and defecation. Isaacs, who admitted the videos were a bit extreme,
claims he is a “shock artist,” implying that the material was artistic.
Due to his lifetime tenure, Kozinski could only be removed
from the office for an impeachable offense, a federal judge said.
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