Shock Artist Smut Trial

There is a major obscenity trial in California that has become more interesting with the discovery of pornography on a website maintained by the presiding judge, Kozinski (who is one of the leading federal judges in the country and has been considered a potential Supreme Court justice).

Setting aside whether we should have any obscenity laws or waste resources enforcing them, it seems strange to me to exclude from the jury potential jurors who find the material offensive when the test is in large part based upon whether most people would find the material offensive.

In an unusual twist, the trial is being presided over by the chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Alex Kozinski, under a program that allows appellate judges to occasionally handle criminal trials at the District Court level. Kozinski is known as a strong defender of free speech and First Amendment rights.

When jury selection began Monday, he urged prospects to be open about their opinions and incurred an onslaught of negative statements. Within the first hour, he dismissed 26 men and women who said they could not be fair to the defendant because they were repulsed by the subject matter. By day's end, half the panel of 100 had been excused.

"I think watching something like that would make me physically ill, nauseous," said one woman. "It's affecting me physically now just thinking about it."

Several prospects marched up to the judge's bench for private conferences when he told them that the films also involved violence against women. They, too, were excused, as were several who cited their religious beliefs.