Report: Smut-case judge posted explicit images

"Most of it was jokes," she said, adding that she had not personally seen the material.

"The contents are a private matter. It was not meant to be accessible by others," Catterson said. "He would have been more careful of the contents had he known what was on it."

Catterson said that after the story broke, the judge's son called Kozinski to say he had been responsible for uploading some of the material onto the computer. However, she could not say how much or what material was involved.

The Times reported that Kozinski said he must have accidentally uploaded the images to his server while trying to upload something else. He also said he would delete some material including a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows, which he called "degrading," the newspaper said.

Kozinski said he began saving the sexually explicit materials and other items of interest years ago, the Times said.

"People send me stuff like this all the time," he said.

Judge ‘should do the right thing’
Jean Rosenbluth, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at the University of Southern California, said she had not seen the contents on Kozinski's Web site but that Kozinski should recuse himself to ensure there is no conflict of interest.

"He should do the right thing and step down," Rosenbluth said.

Kozinski became the youngest federal appeals court judge in the nation when he was appointed at age 35 to the bench by former President Ronald Reagan in 1985. He is known as a strong defender of free speech and First Amendment rights.

Before the site was blocked, visitors to http://alex.kozinski.com saw a message: "Ain't nothin' here. Y'all best be movin' on, compadre." Visitors who knew about a subdirectory could see the sexually explicit materials, as well as some of Kozinski's legal writings and personal photos, the Times said.

Jurors in the Isaacs case will be asked to decide whether the films he distributed are obscene under federal law.

They must decide if the films appeal to a loathsome or degrading type of sexual intercourse and whether the sexual conduct is "patently offensive," judging by the community's standards.

Isaacs, 57, is charged with four counts, including importation or transportation of obscene material for sale. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Prosecutors also are seeking forfeiture of assets obtained through his video sales. Two of the original six counts in his indictment were dropped.

More from msnbc.com First Read: Around the world in eight days First Read: Palin tour takes page from campaign Field Notes: Inside one of America's largest warships Vicarious thrill: He wants her to be hit on Stimulus tracker: See where millions of dollars went On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM CRIME & COURTS

Crime & courts Section Front

Ft. Hood suspect to face 13 murder charges Parents of ‘balloon boy’ to plead guilty Police hunt for buried child-abuse clues Man charged with kidnapping missing girl Doctors questioned Hasan's behavior Dog trainer killed by ex-wife's beau? Stench returns to area of Ohio killings Jury convicts Ark. man in death of TV anchorwoman D.C.-area sniper ‘died very peacefully’ Ex-NYC top cop freed from jail for holidays Crime & courts Section Front   Add Crime & courts headlines to your news reader: