The new chief judge of the federal appeals court in San Francisco dabbles as a paintball warrior, computer gamer and scuba diver. A political conservative and free-speech libertarian, he led a successful campaign in 2001 to stop court officials in Washington, D.C., from monitoring the Internet use of federal judges and court employees.On Wednesday, Judge Alex Kozinski was on the hot seat after the Los Angeles Times disclosed that a Web site of his contained numerous sexual photos and videos - showing nudity and bestiality - while he was preparing to preside over an obscenity trial in Los Angeles.
Kozinski has now blocked public access to the site. He told lawyers that he would consider any request they made to remove him from the case. After the first day of trial Wednesday, the case was put on hold until next week while the U.S. Justice Department decides whether to ask him to step down.
Kozinski said in an interview with The Chronicle on Wednesday that he hadn't paid much attention to the content of the Web site and hadn't known its existence would be disclosed when he began questioning prospective jurors earlier in the week.'Could have walked away'
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