The judge that presided over the Stanford rape case earlier this year is stepping away from hearing criminal cases completely. According to reports from ABC 7 and The Mercury News, Aaron Persky made the request himself after he received mountains of criticism for only sentencing former Stanford athlete Brock Turner to six months in prison for raping an unconscious girl at a campus party. The news comes mere days after Stanford announced they are banning all liquor from parties on campus moving forward, a decision that has also been widely criticized.
A statement from the presiding judge of Santa Clara County Superior Court, the bench where Persky currently serves, reads as such:
“While I firmly believe in Judge Persky’s ability to serve in his current assignment, he has requested to be assigned to the civil division, in which he previously served. Judge Perky believes the change will aid the public and the court by reducing the distractions that threaten to interfere with his ability to effectively discharge the duties of his current criminal assignment.
A reassignment is possible due to the request of another judge to relocate to Palo Alto. Although the presiding judge normally implements assignment changes in January of each year, when two judges simply want to swap assignments for which they are both eminently qualified, there is no reason to delay implementation of a change they both desire.”
However, this change is not the end of the controversy for Persky. Removing himself from criminal cases probably won’t prevent the current push from activists and supporters of the victim to hold a vote to remove him from the Santa Clara County bench completely. No other disciplinary actions or changes related to the outrage surrounding the Brock Turner case have yet been announced.
(via ABC 7)