Prurient Judge

Imagine you are a prosecutor who is prosecuting a man on obscenity charges.  Imagine further that you discover the judge hearing the case has a web site with videos of a man cavorting around with aroused animals among other things.  Would you be worried about your chances of getting a fair hearing in front of that judge?

That’s precisely the position a prosecutor in Los Angeles is in.  Making matters worse, the offending judge is the Chief Judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to FOX News, Judge Alex Kozinski “posted sexually explicit photos and videos on a Web site he maintained that he has now blocked to the public.”

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.”

The FOX News story indicates the revelation occurred during the opening arguments of 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.”  What an interesting time for such a revelation!  And so far the judge hasn’t recused himself.

Increasingly we are seeing judges who seem to see themselves as gods.  They believe they are beyond normal standards of right and wrong but they are perfectly qualified to judge right and wrong for others.  In this case, the judge, who couldn’t possible find the accused guilty, should not only recuse himself, he should be charged with obscenity himself!

Most Americans have lost all faith in our justice system and this case illustrates why.  Judges legislate from the bench while, like Congress, exempting themselves from all scrutiny.  Kozinski is merely the latest example but there are plenty more where he came from.

Our system of justice is broken and it needs to be fixed.  Is there anyone in office today, any leader on either side of the aisle, who is prepared to step up and lead the charge?  I didn’t think so.