Fighting for job, judge publicly names donors
By terms of ethics code, Persky must read aloud in court list of lawyer contributors
PALO ALTO — At the start of every court session, the judge who touched off a national outcry with his relatively light sentence in the Brock Turner sexual assault case announces the names of attorneys who have contributed to his campaign to keep his job.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, believed to be the only local judge ever to face a credible recall threat, has begun an unusual journey for a sitting jurist: a campaign to remain on the bench.
Unlike his opponents, who
have raised nearly $100,000 and mounted online petitions, Persky’s efforts are strictly governed by the state’s code of judicial ethics. He can’t comment on the Turner case because the case will be active until Turner serves three years on probation, starting with his release from jail Friday. He must disclose any contribution that could present a potential conflict of interest, as he has already started doing by reading a list of names aloud in court and taping it to the courtroom podium. And he is prevented by the ethics code from comparing himself to other judges.
But he’s allowed to form his own campaign committee, which he has named “Retain Judge Persky — No Recall,” for a battle that won’t occur until November 2017. He is already reaching out to fellow judges around the state and others for financial support and endorsements.
‘Independence’
In the first statement he’s made since the effort to recall him began, he said on his committee’s website, “I believe strongly in judicial independence. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not to appease politicians or ideologues.”
Recall threats come with the territory for judges. Three of Persky’s colleagues, for instance — judges Theodore C. Zayner, Peter H. Kirwan and Peter Socrates Manoukian — were targeted this summer. But none of those efforts materialized because the proper procedures were not followed, according to a spokesman for the registrar of voters. One of the petitions, against Manoukian, was submitted by a man who called himself “His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince William Bullock Stewart III.”
“If you reacted to every recall threat, you’d go crazy,” Manoukian said. But it’s different for Persky, Manoukian added: “He’s getting death threats and his kids are getting taunted.”
The list of attorneys whose names must be disclosed by Persky because they have contributed to his campaign committee and have cases pending in his court was short as of Monday — just 12 attorneys and a total of $3,600 in contributions. Recall proponents, meanwhile, have already raised more than $100,000.
Both the judge and two groups backing his removal have just begun filling their war chests for a possible recall. There have been only two successful judicial recalls in California, which is one of just eight states that allows voters to remove a judge from office.
“The list is just one example of the extraordinary set of circumstances that caused this case to rise to the level it has,” said Larry Gerston, a retired San Jose State political science professor. “Persky is the symbol of an awful lot of angst for a lot of people — not just here, but across the nation.”
Persky touched off an international firestorm when he sentenced Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an intoxicated, unconscious woman outside a campus frat party.
Since then, opponents have gathered millions of online signatures protesting his decision. They have researched other cases that they say show he has a pattern of leniency. And the Legislature has approved new laws to tighten the penalty for sexually assaulting an intoxicated victim. Last week, Persky asked to be removed from criminal cases and next week will be reassigned to civil court.
Stanford law professor Michele Dauber is leading the charge for the primary recall group, “Committee to Recall Judge Persky.”
The second anti-Persky group, “Citizens to Recall Judge Persky,” is a bit of a mystery. Its statement of organization lists a paid treasurer who is typically hired by Republican candidates. Treasurer Tom Montgomery told this news organization he wasn’t authorized to talk for the campaign and would pass on a message to its unidentified leaders, who did not respond.
If about 80,000 Santa Clara County residents sign recall petitions, which Dauber expects to start circulating in April, the measure would appear on the Nov. 7, 2017, ballot. The next deadline for all three campaigns to file finance reports is Jan. 31.
‘Fair to everyone’
San Jose defense attorney Stefan Kennedy is one of the dozen defense lawyers who have chipped in to keep Persky on the bench. Kennedy contributed $250. “Judge Persky is fair to everyone involved, well-prepared and one of the nicest people you will ever meet,” he said.
Dauber disagrees and has said Persky does not take violence against women seriously.
Political consultant Rich Robinson predicted Persky will lose. Among other factors, he said, Santa Clara County has traditionally embraced feminist causes.
“He’s toast if it goes to election,” Robinson said.
Serious recall efforts are rare. Judges here and around the state rarely even face re-election challengers. Two years ago, Judge Diane Ritchie faced two challengers after a report in this newspaper highlighted her rough adjustment to becoming a judge. Despite spending more than $190,000 on the race, she lost to thenprosecutor Matt Harris.
And in 1998, then-prosecutor Richard Titus ran unsuccessfully against Judge Gregory Ward, claiming that Ward did not have the right temperament to sit on the bench. The judge won in a landslide, 66 percent to 34 percent. Titus told this newspaper he’s still glad he ran, saying Ward was a better judge after that. Ward and Titus spent no more than $2,000 total.
In contrast, more than 375 people have already contributed to Dauber’s group, about 60 percent of whom are women, according to the committee’s June 30 campaign finance statement. Earlier this month, a group called GRLCVLT NYC held a concert in Brooklyn, New York, to raise money for the committee.
Dauber’s group estimates it will need $500,000 to gather signatures and another $500,000 for campaign advertising and direct mail. Putting the measure on the November ballot will cost the county “millions,” according to the Registrar’s Office, because it would be the only countywide race and require staffing some 800 polling places.