Ira Isaacs to Ask 9th Circuit’s Full Panel to Rehear Appeal

LOS ANGELES — Ira Isaacs said Tuesday that his attorney will ask the full panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear an appeal seeking dismissal of his obscenity case.

“If necessary, we’ll take this case up to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Isaacs told XBIZ.

Last week, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit said that Isaacs isn’t entitled to have his case dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.

Isaacs' case was put on hold last year after Judge Alex Kozinski recused himself after it was revealed that he used a website to distribute sexually explicit photos and videos.

His attorney, attorney Roger Jon Diamond, contended that Isaacs shouldn’t be retried because there was no manifest necessity for the declaration of the mistrial, which was declared without Isaacs' consent.

Last week’s 9th Circuit’s four-page ruling said that the federal judge who earlier ruled in the case found Kozinski’s recusal proper and that Kozinski exercised “sound discretion” in declaring a mistrial because of “extraordinary circumstances.”

“[Kozinski] recused himself but he did it incorrectly,” Isaacs said.

Isaacs, who owns Stolen Cars Films and LA Media, faces multiple obscenity-related counts in connection with distribution via the mail the videos “Gang Bang Horse — ‘Pony Sex Game,’” “Mako’s First Time Scat,” “Hollywood Scat Amateurs No. 7” and “BAE 20.”

Federal prosecutors allege that the films are obscene and have no artistic merit.

But Isaacs claims the films have both artistic and political value, and that he would like to tell a jury just that.

“I’m going to be an expert witness in the case, if this case proceeds to a jury,” he said. “I’d be put on the stand and explain that the only one who can decide whether a piece of art is obscene is the artist.”

Isaacs said he was hoping to have that chance to speak to jurors in the first case, which ended with Kozinski recusing himself.

“It would have been nice to have a dry run,” he said.

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