Judge Kozinski’s Porn-Sharing with Women at Work

Judge Alex Kozinski is one of the country’s most influential conservative federal judges. He is part of the libertarian branch of conservative thought— he values less government regulation, and more personal freedom.

His opinions are witty, engaging, and often fun to read. One case we highlight in class relates to a woman who was fired for not wearing make-up. He believed the termination was a form of discrimination because how a person presents her (or his) face is an intensely personal choice.

So I am personally saddened—in the same way that Sen. Franken’s case saddens me— that Judge Kozinski stands accused of showing porn videos to his female law clerks.

We’ll see where this goes, and I can’t make predictions. Nonetheless, here are some implications to consider:

Will this matter focus attention on Justice Clarence Thomas, putting pressure on him to resign? Anita Hill has gone on record in alleging that when she worked as a staff attorney for Thomas, “He spoke about...such matters as women having sex with animals and films showing group sex or rape scenes," and graphically described "his own sexual prowess" and the details of his anatomy. He repeatedly asked her out socially and after she refused he used work situations to discuss sexual subjects.

Will the matter elevate Judge Kozinski on President Trump’s list of future Supreme Court nominees? This is a counter-intuitive idea, of course—but not if one follows the logic of Donald Trump to double down on bad ideas. Here it should be noted that Judge Kozinski voted in favor of President Trump’s travel ban earlier in 2017, departing from the majority ruling of Ninth Circuit appellate judges.

Will the matter lead to the outing of other judges? That’s anyone’s guess … but that discussion circles back to former state supreme court chief justice Roy Moore, who admits he dated teenagers as a 32 year-old prosecuting attorney, and is credibly accused of molesting a child.
These three judges (Kozinski, Thomas, and Moore) are Republicans. Is this a particular character problem for judges who emphasize religious freedom? Do they embrace religion as a shield for their uncontrolled sexual urges?

If there is a bottom line for today, it’s that the judicial robes are no longer covering up a tawdry side to at least one judge and exposes character issues about a sitting Supreme Court justice. Meanwhile, there is a new layer to the national debate about a former state judge’s fitness for any public office.