Morning Docket: 06.12.08
* Judge Lewis Kaplan (S.D.N.Y.) benchslaps two hedge funds in lawsuit brought by CSX. [WSJ Law Blog (linkwrap plus opinion)]
* Judge Kozinski suspends obscenity trial for 48 hours, to allow the prosecution to explore "a potential conflict of interest concerning the court having a... sexually explicit website with similar material to what is on trial here." (More on this later; note ATL shout-outs in the first two sources.) [Los Angeles Times; New York Sun; New York Times; AP]
* Should the United States take a harder line with respect to hate speech? Some scholars say yes. [New York Times]
* EU laws regulating chemicals force U.S. companies to make changes. [Washington Post]
* Is now the right time to be scaling back the National Guard's presence at the border? [New York Times]
* Former Fannie Mae exec James Johnson quits as VP vetter for Obama, in the wake of controversy over some of his financial and business arrangements. [Washington Post]
* Judge orders judicial pay raise in New York. [AP]
* Judicial reform gets underway in Malaysia (plus some cool photos, from Jerome Armstrong). [MyDD]
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Finally, Kozinski listens to the legal brilliance of the ATL posters.
I told you so.
The issue is not so much having the material, but stating publicly that the material is not obscene. (If similar to the porn at issue in the trial.)
Again, the issue is not whether the judge is impartial, but whether a reasonable person could entertain a doubt on that issue.
directory of Kozinski stuff here:
http://patterico.com/2008/06/12/exclusive-kozinskis-porn-images-from-judge-alex-kozinskis-web-site/
In addition, can he sit on music file sharing cases?
(LA Times article):
"The presence of copyrighted music files on Kozinski's site raises other issues.
"More than a dozen MP3 tracks were listed, and they were neither excerpts nor used to illustrate legal opinions, which experts said might have qualified their copying as "fair use." The artists included Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Weird Al Yankovic."
A lot of links and ways to see Kozinski's porn collection. I guess a lot of you either don't have spam filters on your work computers or just don't care whether your firm sees you looking at naked women painted as cows.
If the prosecution files a DQ motion, should Kozinski hear it or have another judge hear it?
There is no such thing as obscenity. Sex is a part of the human condition. Sure he shouldn't have been looking at in Court, but it doesn't make him a bad judge.
The sexual revolution is over. We won. Get over it.
10:35- based on my memory of the judicial rules of conduct, he makes the decision himself to recuse. But, I think his action or inaction in recusal could open him up to investigation by the circuit panel appointed to monitor the ethics of the 9th circuit (each circuit has such a panel or group).
LAT!! Where's the posting about the 5-4 decision on Gitmo Bay detainees?
LAT!! Where's the posting about the 5-4 decision on Gitmo Bay detainees?
Say what you want about Judge Kozinski , but he has great taste in cows.
PS: The man being chased by the sexually arroused donky video--if that was the video referenced in The Times article--IS funny. h
After looking at the Koz stuff I don't see the big deal--yes the stuff is in bad tase--but it was his personal stuff and it is not illegal to possess such photos and videos. The guy on trial has some pretty sick shit--bestiality? come on--Koz's stuff doesn't even come close to that. All of the stuff appears to be humorous (and for the purpose of humor, not sexual arousal).
SUPREME COURT POST PLEASE
It's about time the US took a harder line on hate speech. The first thing that should be banned is the New York Times, which is cover-to-cover vitriol and hate.
How is Malaysia as a tourist destination? Some of those pics like nice.
I just viewed Koz's stuff and I must admit some of it is pretty funny. What is this world coming to if a man can't amuse himself and some of his closest friends with the occasional priest/pedo joke. The internet surprises me everyday. I wonder what's in Clarence Thomas' porn stash?
P.S. Those are the hottest cows I've ever seen.
P.P.S. Koz for Supreme Court Justice!