Patterico's Pontifications

6/12/2008

Thoughts on Kozinski [from an admitted quasi-libertine and fair use advocate]

Filed under: General,Judiciary,Kozinski — Justin Levine @ 5:37 am



[by Justin Levine – not Patterico]

1. In looking over some of the actual material that was reportedly on Judge Kozinski’s site, I will confess that I had already seen at least half of these items on the Internet. Some of these items had been e-mailed to me. These are typical ‘viral videos’ that are shared by people with crude senses of humor (to which I plead guilty from time to time – it is how I have managed to maintain my radio job). I usually don’t save them on my own computer – but only because I generally know where to access them online. I have several friends who store this kind of stuff on their own computers. I’d just be curious to know if Kozinski had the 2 Girls 1 Cup video on his site. [Don’t worry Patterico – I won’t link to the video itself on this site without your express permission. 😛 ]

2. This admittedly is a legitimate story – but only because Kozinski had the unfortunate luck to be presiding over a criminal obscenity trial. If it weren’t for that fact, this would be a non-issue (especially in a post-Lewinsky landscape). Take out the conflict of interest in the trial, and this would [should] only be of concern to the prudish nannies of the world with no sense of humor. It would be a shame if spineless politicians took Kozinski off of the Supreme Court list because of this incident. The nation would be worse off for it.

3. The first picture featured on Patterico’s link is actually that of L.A. radio team Heidi, Frosty and Frank from KLSX (dressed in their Halloween costumes).

4. Longtime readers of my blogging are familiar with my views on the copyright regime. My thoughts on the allegations regarding music files on Kozinski’s site can be found here.

5. I have no real comment on the specific dispute between Cyrus Sanai and Kozinski – though I am very sympathetic with the general proposition that we need to do away with the concept of ‘unpublished’ opinions. With that said, I can’t help but feel that the latest turn of events smack of pettiness.

6. No matter what becomes of this, he will still always be The Great Kozinski in my eyes.

[I have a general policy of not allowing comments to my posts anymore. But I’ll make an exception in this case since it is admittedly provocative and I suspect Patterico would encourage me to do so. I make no promises in taking the time to read them though. I would encourage those who disagree to reply in other blog posts.]

[posted by Justin Levine]

8 Responses to “Thoughts on Kozinski [from an admitted quasi-libertine and fair use advocate]”

  1. As someone else pointed out on aoshq, realistically, AK never had a chance to be appointed to the ussc. As to your article about the Magic Castle, I have an appellate atty friend who joined around 2004. Now I know why!

    jen (5e96ad)

  2. […] Levine.  Patterico calls the images “pornographic, perverted, and/or disturbing”; Justin says, rather pedestrian and innocuous.  Most disturbing from a legal point of view were the […]

    Hot Air » Blog Archive » 9th Circuit chief justice: porn master (d4224a)

  3. One other little note of irony that escaped you is Kozinsky’s leading the charge to have porn filters removed from this narrow scope of Government computers. Obviously, his crusade didn’t apply to lesser classes of the taxpayer employed.

    rhodeymark (6797b5)

  4. Open warning: Anyone with ANY decency, even the slightest shred, should NOT view 2 Girls 1 Cup.

    It is, frankly, one of the 5 most horrible things on the internet.

    If you only ever believe one thing I tell you, let it be this: Never see this video for any reason. It’s use as an interogation device constitutes torture. I kid you not.

    Scott Jacobs (fa5e57)

  5. #4 – apparently Judge Kozinski (can we just shorten it to K’inki now?) has/had a case of 4-5 hours of similar material, and the jurors have to watch every last frame of it. Why? Anyone? Bueller? The video you reference makes some people vomit after only minutes. If I ralphed in the courtroom, haven’t I already rendered a verdict?

    rhodeymark (4f2403)

  6. The video you reference makes some people vomit after only minutes. If I ralphed in the courtroom, haven’t I already rendered a verdict?

    I dunno, what do you think the law is — that you get to throw someone in jail if they produce a video that nauseates you?

    I don’t understand why the fact that a video is nauseating makes distribution of it somehow criminal.

    For example, I get nauseated at a good deal of the surgery footage shown on the Science Channel. Hardly anyone who watches the Science Channel will ever perform surgery, and even if they will, they aren’t going to learn how by watching the Science Channel. So what’s the value of showing disgusting, bloody, internal organs being sliced open on screen? (This is a rhetorical question).

    Is it because they’re playing with fecal matter? Anybody ever seen what a two-year-old will do with a dirty diaper if left alone? This isn’t some kind of criminal activity, it’s just infantile.

    Heck, a lot of the stuff on “Fear Factor” made me gag and nearly lose my lunch. Eating reproductive organs of various animals, for example. Nobody’s calling for prosecution of them.

    I really find the whole idea of throwing people in jail because of this a lot more disturbing than any of the subject matter itself.

    There’s a group of people out there who apparently want to throw a lot of other people in jail just because they got grossed out. That’s what’s really scary — not the fact that this movie producer apparently likes to play with poop like some 2-year-old kid.

    Phil (6d9f2f)

  7. In my original view, it was the mp3 file sharing that was Kozinski’s greatest problem; The porn just shows appalling judgment and sexual and person deviancy.

    If that picture was not of Kozinski but rather some random radio personalities, then it is way more disturbing, since Kozinski only kept for the kid giving a priest the blowjob, which is a meme Kozinski likes.

    Cyrus Sanai

    Cyrus Sanai (4df861)

  8. Mr. Sanai:

    Nobody likes a chattle tale.

    (j/k, j/k! Don’t sue!)

    fat tony (601b8d)


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