If there was ever any doubt whether or not the family law reform movement needed a judicial watchdog operation such NCPForce!'s Judicial Watch project, one need look no further than the case of Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
While Judge Kozinski was presiding over an obscenity case, it was learned that the good judge had an obscene publicly accessible website of his own featuring sexually explicit photos and videos, including: a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows; a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal; images of masturbation and public and contortionist sex; a slide show striptease featuring a transsexual; a series of photos of women's crotches as seen through snug fitting clothing or underwear; and content with themes of defecation and urination.
When the truth came out, Kozinski dismissed concerns over his website by saying that he thought some of the content was "funny." He also refused to disqualify himself from the case. Later on, however, Kozinski petitioned an ethics panel to investigate and blamed family members and friends for possibly posting some of the material. Kozinski finally recused himself from the obscenity case in June 2008.
Now, a year later, a panel of federal judges looking into Kozinski's behavior have swept the entire matter under the carpet by giving Kozinski a slap on the wrist. While calling Kozinski's actions "judicially imprudent" and "exhibiting poor judgment", the panel decided to allow Kozinski to continue judging other people.
Hmm ... poor judgment ... is that really a qualification for being a judge? This is what happens when we have judges disciplining judges, and lawyers disciplining lawyers.
Keep your reports on judges and your lawyer ratings coming!
Read the full story here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kozinski3-2009jul03,0,2032797.story