BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

Before I get started on this one, let me just say that if your fingers type a word on a computer or if you upload anything to any server in the world, you can bet it will be there forever and seen by anyone who wishes to see it.  For heaven’s sake, even if something is “secure” we all know that someone somewhere can “unsecure” it.  Even a judge should know that.  Remember all those secure servers that were hacked into get credit card numbers and Social Security numbers a few years ago? 

Anyway, here’s the trick of the day.  Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski was presiding over a criminal obscenity trial when his own perversions came to light.  I swear, this isn’t a joke.  Kozinski is one of the highest ranking federal judges in the United States.  You would think he would know better, but according to the LA Times….

Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, acknowledged in an interview with The Times that he had posted the materials, which included a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. Some of the material was inappropriate, he conceded, although he defended other sexually explicit content as “funny.”

Oh, those conservatives have a sick sense of humor!  Kozinski was appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan in 1985 and was named Chief Judge last year.  Beware those conservatives.

But, Kozinski had an excuse for the material, of course…

Kozinski, 57, said that he thought the site was for his private storage and that he was not aware the images could be seen by the public, although he also said he had shared some material on the site with friends. After the interview Tuesday evening, he blocked public access to the site.

And, I thought sticking the knife 16 times into the man’s body wouldn’t kill him, right?  I think that goes back to “ignorance is no excuse” or something like that. 

Oh… the bell once rung cannot be unrung, even if you are the Chief Judge.

Kozinski said he would delete some material from his site, including the photo depicting women as cows, which he said was “degrading . . . and just gross.” He also said he planned to get rid of a graphic step-by-step pictorial in which a woman is seen shaving her pubic hair.

And, then more excuses…

Kozinski said he must have accidentally uploaded those images to his server while intending to upload something else. “I would not keep those files intentionally,” he said. The judge pointed out that he never used appeals court computers to maintain the site.

Ah… excuse me, but if he would not keep those files intentionally, why would he share them with friends?  I hope he was a better judge than he is a witness.  Because, we can bet our sweet bits that he wouldn’t be sitting on the bench much longer.

However, we must give Kozinski a A+ for variety.  Apparently, he not only confined his affinity to women painted as cows .  That does say something about his respect… or lack of respect… for women, doesn’t it?  I can’t even comment on the farm animals, but someone should call PETA.  Let us not stop there.

The sexually explicit material on Kozinski’s site earlier this week was extensive, including images of masturbation, public sex and contortionist sex. There was a slide show striptease featuring a transsexual, and a folder that contained a series of photos of women’s crotches as seen through snug fitting clothing or underwear. There were also themes of defecation and urination, though they are not presented in a sexual context.

I can hear it now… Kozinski, the scatting judge.

After details about the website were published on latimes.com this morning, the judge offered to entertain motions to recuse himself from the obscenity trial of Hollywood filmmaker Ira Isaacs, who is accused of distributing criminally obscene sexual fetish videos depicting bestiality and defecation.

I do wonder if the judge wanted copies of the Isaacs’ material.  Sounds like something he could get into.

And, some people think this will be forgotten.

Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor who specializes in legal ethics, told The Times that Kozinski should recuse himself from the Isaacs case because “the public can reasonably question his objectivity” concerning the issues at hand.

Gillers, who has known Kozinski for years and called him “a treasure of the federal judiciary,” said he took the judge at his word that he did not know the site was publicly available. But he said Kozinski was “seriously negligent” in allowing it to be discovered.

“The phrase ’sober as a judge’ resonates with the American public,” Gillers said. “We don’t want them to reveal their private selves publicly. This is going to upset a lot of people.”

Gillers said the disclosure would be humiliating for Kozinski and would “harm his reputation in many quarters,” but that the controversy should die there.

He added, however, that if the public concludes the website was intended for the sharing of pornographic material, “that’s a transgression of another order.”

“It would be very hard for him to come back from that,” he said.

Good try, Stephen.  It’s all but over and you can take that to the bank.

And, as for the judge

Kozinski said he didn’t think any of the material he posted on his website would qualify as obscene.

Ira Isaacs’ must be crying over this revelation.  To be sure, he would have walked out of the courthouse Scott free.  And, by the way, has the prosecutor in the Isaacs’ case sought an indictment against Kozinski yet?