Stanford rape case judge removes himself from other sex crime matter
Judge Aaron Persky, who came under fire for what many saw as a light sentence for former Standford University swimmer Brock Turner, recently disqualified himself from another sex case.
The case was to decide if San Jose, Calif., plumber Robert Chain’s felony conviction for child pornography should be changed to a misdemeanor. Persky has handled Chain's case since 2015, sentencing him to four days in jail and requiring him to register for life as a sex offender, The Associated Press reports.
"While on vacation earlier this month, my family and I were exposed to publicity surrounding this case,'' the judge said in a written ruling, Mercury News reports. "This publicity has resulted in a personal family situation such that 'a person aware of the facts might reasonably entertain a doubt that the judge would be able to be impartial.'''
Christopher Kutz, a University of California at Berkeley law professor, told AP "no formal or actual conflict" seems to exist between the judge and Chain's case, but the "appearance that he seems susceptible to political pressure" does.
Judge Kenneth P. Barnum is set to take the case, with a hearing in Palo Alto on Oct. 6, Mercury News reports.
Some question if Persky will complete his six-year term following his sentencing of Turner to six months in jail. Turner was found guilty in March of three counts of sexual assault for the attack on an unconscious woman in January 2015. Prosecutors sought a six-year prison term in that case.
"His victory will be short-lived," Stanford law professor Michele Dauber told Paste BN in June. "I am 100% confident we will recall him. His decision hit every woman in the state of California in the gut."