More than an obscenity case

http://www.nysun.com/national/porn-stash-puts-obscenity-case-judge-in-awkward/79862/
More than an obscenity case.
I was first interested in this case because it had to do with obscenity. But, then I began thinking about the test and wondered maybe Judge Alex Kozinski have a case against the journalist that published the story about what was on his computer. Seems to me that this could be a case for libel and publication of private embarrassing fact. Of course, the judge would have to prove that he is not a public figure. But, I didn’t think appellate judges were ones that was voted on by the public. I know it depends on the state.
The case
Judge Alex Kozinski is an appeals court judge in California who is residing on an obscenity case. How ironic? Apparently the Los Angeles Times posted online that the judge has been maintaining a public stash of online fetish pornography. The site posted the story, detailing everything that was on his computer. The Judge stated in an interview about the story that he was unaware that the site could be accessed by the public, but defended some of the pictures as being “funny.” The judge stated that he did not use court computers. However, analysts are encouraging the judge to recuse himself from the obscenity case. Do you think this should affect his job and would this bias his opinion. I don’t think his opinion would be biased against anyone. He is supposed to base his opinion on the facts in the case. How do we know what people are viewing on their own time and should it be our business to know?