Chief Judge Kozinski Accused of Ethics Violations and 2001 Crime Related to Court Computers

Things continued to get worst for Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. This week, the ABA Journal has revealed that the inclusion of copyrighted music mp3 videos and copyrighted material on his site could raise ethics issues. Much more alarming is a lengthy letter from Ralph Mecham, who retired as director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in 2006 that accused Kozinski of a federal crime in disabling a court computer system — exposing the entire court system to hackers. The disclosure came after learning that the music and pornography had previously bogged down the court system.

Kozinski has recused himself from the current pornography trial of Ira Issacs. However, the controversy will deepen with this latest story. For prior coverage, click here.

The inclusion of the MP3 files and other material raise questions over Kozinski ruling in related cases, including one recent case involving the illegal sale of copyrighted materials.
Most of the music is apparently the work of parodist Weird Al Yankovic.
Kozinski’s son Yale has taken responsibility for some of the postings.

Mecham’s letter is by far the most disturbing of the new revelation. He describes a 9th Circuit study that determined that Kozinski had damages the computer security system — resulting in hackers being after to penetrate the system. The study found that pornography downloads were rampant.

For a copy of the letter, click here.

For the article, click here