“More than a million people have signed petitions demanding the removal of Aaron Persky, the California state judge who sentenced Brock Turner, a Stanford swimmer convicted of three felony sexual-assault counts, to six months in jail, three years of probation, and lifetime registration on the sex-offender list.” How is the furor likely to affect the justice system? Three views from law professors: Jeannie Suk (from whom the above quote is taken), Howard Wasserman, Stephen Bainbridge.
11 Comments
The Suk comment in the New Yorker (and, indeed, most news reports) fail to mention (or mention only briefly) that the judge followed the probation report recommendations. The probation report was lengthy and written by a female probation officer as well as being approved by a female supervisor. I have no way to assess whether the probation report was sound but it is supposed to be an independent evaluation of the risks that the defendant poses to the community and what an appropriate punishment should be. Maybe the judge should have ignored the probation report but I suspect most judges feel comfortable in being guided by it.
I think it is unfortunate that so little attention has been given to the probation report.
Paul makes an excellent point. In addition, it wasn’t rape, despite what many people think. He wasn’t tried for rape. Convicted of rape. Or sentenced for rape. But rather 3 sex assault felonies other than rape. That call for shorter sentences. Plus – has anyone noticed that the judge is a former sex crimes prosecutor?
true enough. However, if the probation report were all, then why have the judge involved at all? If the judge is involved, isn’t it up to him to , you know, judge what to do?
Bob
It seems that people who object to the sentence are not interested in discussing why that sentence may have been imposed, or the pros and cons of a more severe or less severe sentence. It is an article of faith that the sentence was WRONG and the judge should be whipped through the streets for imposing it.
“It seems that people who object to the sentence are not interested in discussing why that sentence may have been imposed, or the pros and cons of a more severe or less severe sentence.”
From what I have seen, they aren’t even interested in discussing what the defendant actually did.
I’m a little curious to know how many of those million+ signatures are California residents.The reason why I ask is, this is a state thing. Someone in Montana or New Jersey can be as outraged as they like, but they have no say in handling the problem.
@Bill: The petition was started by someone from Miami, and change.org doesn’t restrict by state, or indeed by country. There’s no verification of email, and the simple expedient of clicking, “logout” lets you sign again with a different, fake email.
So… first what percentage are real, unique people, then what percentage of those are US based, then cut it down to California specifically… it’s not 1.2 million unique Californians, I can guarantee that.
The media coverage has fueled outrage since no one seems to either 1) know the facts of the sentencing 2) understand sentencing procedure in CA
Yes, a judge does have the discretion to sentence (within guidelines) even if it means not following the probation report. However, there is a reason for the pre-sentencing report, especially when there are victims. The victim(s) are interviewed, any impact for restitution is assessed. In addition they do interview the defendant, too (if def agrees).
These reports aren’t frivolous. And even though this perp will only do 6 mos jail, he will be registering as a sex offender (PC290) & monitored by law enforcement for the rest of his life*.
Judges do review the reports prior to PJ. They give a lot of weight to Probation’s recommendations because of the investigative process they do.
*depending on his registration classification he MAY be eligible to get off registry but it is a long process that can only take place about 7-10 years done the road. Or maybe never.
I think six months is too light. I think three years would have been more reasonable.
I also don’t think it matters whether it is 1.2 million or 1.2 thousand signatures. We all can agree that, correctly or incorrectly, a lot of people were outraged by this sentence.
The kid’s dad foolishly fueled the fire with that idiotic letter. But I’m not going to throw many stones on a father’s effort to protect this son.
You don’t need to have knowledge of the law or California sentencing procedures or anything else. Everyone has an opinion and every single person offering an opinion is qualifed to give one, including those people that disagree with me.
“You don’t need to have knowledge of the law or California sentencing procedures or anything else. ”
If you are going to opine on the appropriateness of a criminal sentence, you ought to at least have an understanding of what the defendant actually did and what he was convicted of.
You probably think rape, which would be wrong.
I also don’t think it matters whether it is 1.2 million or 1.2 thousand signatures. We all can agree that, correctly or incorrectly, a lot of people were outraged by this sentence.
Absolutely. But I don’t appreciate the thought of someone in Florida selecting judges for me. I don’t know on exactly what bench Judge Persky sits. However, it is a California state bench, and we have procedures in place to remove/recall judges. The out-of-staters can be as outraged as they like. They still have nothing to say here.
Personally, I want to see and hear more of the Judge’s record before I call for his head. It was a boneheaded sentencing arrangement, but if Persky has a track record of this sort of thing, It’ll show up soon enough.