Voters in Santa Clara County removed Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky from the bench in a victory for the campaign that argued Persky’s leniency in the sexual assault case was an affront to the victim and all survivors. “Tonight many, many voters voted against the culture of impunity for high-status perpetrators of sexual assault or domestic violence,” Michele Dauber, a Stanford University professor and chair of the Recall Judge Aaron Persky Campaign, told The Washington Post. “This election expresses clearly that sexual assault, sexual violence is serious and it has to be taken seriously by elected officials. In a commentary in the Mercury News, the presiding judge, Patricia Lucas, and two former judges argued the recall threatened judges’ judicial independence. Correction: An earlier version of this post mistakenly referred to the victim in the Brock Turner case as a student.

Source: Washington Post June 06, 2018 06:42 UTC