The latest man to be accused of sexual misconduct is 9th Circut Court Judge Alex Kozinski. It seems though that Mr. Kozinski has been up to these types of inappropriate hijinks for quite some time. A former clerk, Heidi Bond, and five other women who had also been clerks or externs in the 9th Circut court have reported to the Washington Post that Judge Kozinski subjected them to a range of inappropriate sexual comments or conduct over the years. Two of these women claim that the judge asked them to view pornographic material in his chambers. He also sent images to Ms. Bond that were pornographic in nature, asking her if these images “aroused” her. She would respond with a succinct “No, this kind of stuff doesn’t do anything for me. Is there anything else you need?” Judge Kozinski has a history of doing these types of things to co-workers. It seems that in 2008 the Los Angeles Times ran a story about his email “gag list“.

On this email list were friends and associates, as well as his law clerks, other prominent jurists on the Federal bench, as well as well-known attorneys, and even journalists. In 2007, the judge was the subject of a judicial misconduct investigation into his actions after the LA Times published another article detailing the contents of a server that the judge kept with sexually explicit material that was (unfortunately) discovered to be open to the public through his honor’s website.

It at least seems that the Times article gave his victims some relief since he shut down the gag list, as a result, of the controversy that (predictably) erupted after the Times article ran. According to legal ethicist, Arthur Hellman, who is an expert on both the 9th circuit and judicial ethics:

“Kozinski’s distribution of some of the more objectionable jokes may have violated an ethical canon that prohibits judges from engaging in social activities that “detract from the dignity of the judge’s office. Kozinski’s distribution of some of the more objectionable jokes may have violated an ethical canon that prohibits judges from engaging in social activities that “detract from the dignity of the judge’s office.”

Ya think? Wow. Shocking that you needed four years of law school to help you arrive at THAT conclusion. Stuart Taylor Jr., a journalist with the National Journal who had been on the “gag list” for a decade, said of the judge:

“He’s not hung up on the need to be dignified,” said Stuart Taylor Jr., a columnist for the National Journal who said he was on the gag list for more than a decade. “He enjoys life the way he did before he was a judge, and that may not comport with some peoples’ image of what judges should be like.”

Well, on that, Mr. Taylor, we can agree to disagree. I prefer to throw in with the bipartisan group of women who appear in the video above. I agree with Barbara Comstock (R-VA) and Kathleen Rice (D-VA) that we should have standards of conduct that all members of our government, our judiciary and, frankly, our society should follow. Be decent people. Act with class and treat others as you would like to be treated. It shouldn’t be that hard; remember Kindergarten?