A Los Angeles criminal obscenity trial has been suspended after the judge presiding over it admitted his personal website featured sexually explicit materials, the Los Angeles Times reported.

One of the highest-ranking US federal judges, chief judge on the US 9th Circuit court of appeals in San Francisco Alex Kozinski, agreed to a 48-hour suspension of a high-profile case after news broke he too possessed a supply of obscene images posted on his family website.  The case involves a filmmaker who is accused of distributing fetish films that depict bestiality and other acts that might be deemed criminally obscene.

Currently disabled, the website contained footage of a semi-naked man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. Other items found on the site included a photograph of nude women on all fours painted to look like cows and another of a young man giving himself fellatio.

Confronted about the pictures, the 57-year-old judge, who has drawn notice for his wide-ranging, irreverent intellect and his vocal support for the First Amendment, explained that he was unaware the site was available for public viewing but he thought the pictures were "funny." Kozinski later said that the site was in fact used by his entire family and his adult son Yale uploaded some of the pictures.

The site also included music files, family photos and excerpts from the judge's writings. Yale said that he was responsible for maintaining the site, intended for family file-sharing only, and had made a mistake in configuring it for access beyond his family and friends.

"I guess I should be more careful about access and all," he was quoted as saying by UK's Guardian. "I didn't put anything on there I think would be embarrassing."

In the meantime, Kozinski, who told lawyers that he would consider any request they made to remove him from the case, released a statement asking for an investigation of himself in order to determine whether he should step down.

"I have asked the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit to take steps pursuant to Rule 26, of the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct and Disability, and to initiate proceedings concerning the article that appeared in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times. I will cooperate fully in any investigation."