It is up to the voters to determine whether or not Judge Persky continues in office, and the voters may consider his history on the bench including his decisions in making their determination." The Recall Aaron Persky campaign responded to concerns over judicial independence in a statement that read, in part, "California judges are accountable to voters, and that means considering judges' previous decisions. When judges believe that they will lose their careers for making unpopular but lawful decisions, they may lack the courage to stand up for the rights of minorities or others needing protection from powerful majorities." "Subjecting judges to recall when they follow the law and do something unpopular undermines judicial independence. So Rosen, like retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, opposed the recall. Jeffrey Rosen, the district attorney who prosecuted Turner, says he "vehemently opposed" the sentence the judge imposed - in fact, after the case ended, Rosen says he helped the state create a law that sets mandatory minimum prison sentences for similar sexual assaults.īut the original sentence was lawful at the time Persky imposed it. It might have been inappropriate, even unjust, they said - but it wasn't illegal, and a recall in response could have unintended consequences, they warned. Other Persky backers were not interested in defending the six-month sentence. McManis said Turner's victim "was not attacked" and accused her of not writing her own victim statement. Last month, Jim McManis, who identified himself as a lawyer representing Persky, fueled even more outrage in a phone interview he gave to Vogue.
The recall campaigners were infuriated by such comments and pointed to a pattern of victim-blaming by Turner apologists. One supporter argued that the assault case should never even have gone to trial, because he said it centered on "a nebulous sexual encounter" in which both participants were drunk. Some Persky backers defend the short sentence - and, by extension, Turner. The state's Commission on Judicial Performance investigated four cases that had been the subject of complaints and did not find a pattern of bias - but the recall campaign says the commission's report was "error-ridden."ĭebates over the recall have, in some cases, become virulent arguments over the sexual assault itself. Supporters of the recall allege that in addition to the Turner sentencing, Persky has demonstrated a pattern of leniency toward athletes and in cases involving sexual assault, other sex crimes or domestic violence. Stanford law professor Michele Dauber speaks at a rally in 2016, before activists delivered over 1 million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for Persky's removal. Persky's defenders argued that a recall would undermine judicial independence and might unintentionally lead to longer sentences for far less privileged felons. Women outraged by Turner's lenient sentence led the charge to recall Persky from his post, saying he is unfit to serve out the remaining four years of his term.
Persky becomes the first California judge in 86 years to be recalled.
With 43 percent of county precincts reporting, 59 percent of voters favored the recall of Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, 41 percent opposed the recall, according to The Associated Press, who called the vote early Wednesday. The California judge who prompted a national outcry after handing former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner a six-month sentence for sexual assault has been recalled by voters in Santa Clara County. Voters in Santa Clara County are deciding Tuesday whether to remove Judge Aaron Persky from office after he sentenced a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault to a short jail sentence instead of prison.
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