WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- A judicial council on Thursday admonished the chief judge of the nation 's largest federal appeals court for having `` sexually explicit photos and videos '' on his personal Web site , but decided against any further punishment . The panel chose not to discipline Judge Alex Kozinski beyond the admonishment . Judge Alex Kozinski , 58 , of the San Francisco , California-based 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals previously apologized and had recommended an investigation because of the public controversy over the material . A panel of judges assigned to investigate concluded Kozinski 's `` possession of sexually explicit offensive material combined with his carelessness in failing to safeguard his sphere of privacy was judicially imprudent . '' His actions , the panel wrote , `` can reasonably be seen as having resulted in embarrassment to the institution of the federal judiciary . '' But Kozinski was not disciplined because he had removed himself from an ongoing obscenity trial when news broke of the visual material on alex.kozinski.com , which the judge launched in 2002 , according to the 41-page opinion issued by the judicial council . According to the council 's written opinion , the material included a photograph of naked women painted like dairy cows , a woman shaving her pubic hair , and a video of a half-dressed man `` cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal . '' Kozinski testified to a judicial conduct panel that much of the material was `` like odd things that I 've thrown into a room without looking at them . '' He said some of the files were e-mailed by friends , much of which he did not bother to view . He admitted storing some of the sexually explicit photos , but said , `` I do n't know why I kept them . '' The judge also said he never considered his site public and thought he had blocked access to the subcategory file in question , which was labeled `` stuff . '' There was no immediate reaction from Kozinski or his lawyer to the panel 's admonishment . Kozinski had earlier apologized to the investigative panel for his `` unfortunate carelessness . '' `` I have caused embarrassment to the federal judiciary , '' he said . `` And thus whatever shame was cast on me personally , it reflected on my colleagues and our system of justice as well . '' The controversy erupted when Kozinski was about to serve as a trial judge -- separate from his work on the higher appeal court -- in a 2008 obscenity prosecution of adult film producer Ira Isaacs . Kozinski recused himself when the Los Angeles TImes published a story about the Web site material , and he later asked for a probe into the incident . The Isaacs case has not gone to trial , but is on appeal over pending motions at the 9th Circuit . Kozinski is not expected to take part in the matter . Kozinski is one of the most colorful and outspoken members of the federal bench . Born in Communist Romania , he emigrated to the United States at age 12 and still speaks with an Eastern European accent . His parents were Holocaust survivors . He was named to his current seat in 1985 by President Reagan , and he was the youngest federal appeals judge in the nation at the time . A mainstream Jewish conservative with libertarian views on free speech , the judge is admired for his writing skills , intellectual curiosity and sense of humor . He is also one of the few federal judges who will do press interviews , speaking with CNN on several occasions about a variety of topics . He also wrote an online `` diary '' for Slate.com a few years ago . He is especially outspoken in oral arguments on his appeals court , and his detractors say he tends to dominate the questioning , often to the dismay of his fellow judges .
Alex Kozinski is chief judge of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals . Items on judge 's Web site included photos of naked women painted like dairy cows . Judicial council says his actions embarrassed federal judiciary . Kozinski has apologized for his `` unfortunate carelessness ''