Court Rejects Recall Appeal Filed By Stanford Rape Case Judge

SAN JOSE, CA — The recall of Judge Aaron Persky will be decided on by Santa Clara County voters when it appears on the June 5 ballot as planned after the 6th District Court of Appeal announced their denial of his appeal, according to the Recall Persky campaign. Persky's history as a Superior Court judge became controversial after he handed down a six-month sentence to former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, who was convicted of the sexual assault of a woman after meeting her at a party on campus.

Persky filed an appeal on the grounds that the recall campaign should not have been filed with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, but rather with the California Secretary of State because he believed that he was considered a "state officer," not a "local officer."

However, Administrative Justice Franklin Elia, Associate Justice Adrienne Grover and former Justice Wendy Clark Duffy, the trio who presided over the appellate hearing last Tuesday, disagreed and stated in their
decision that they found "no procedural error and therefore must affirm the order."

The lawsuit appeared originally in front of retired San Francisco Judge Ksenia Tsenin in August 2017, at which time she lifted a temporary restraining order that Persky had filed that delayed the collection of
signatures for his recall, according to the justices' court decision.

Tsenin rescinded the order, determining that the county's Registrar of Voters was the proper official to review and approve recall petitions for Superior Court judges and that "the recall petition submitted in this case was neither misleading nor inaccurate," the document states.

It was at that point that Persky filed his appeal.

The justices sided with the Recall Persky campaign, but also with Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who showed opposition to Persky's order, stating that the Registrar of Voters was the proper place to oversee the
recalling of a Superior Court judge, who in fact was "a local officer."

"We are thankful that the Sixth District Court of Appeals sided with the voters and rejected Judge Persky's appeal to stop the recall collection," recall chair Michele Dauber said in a statement. "Judge Persky has proven time and time again that he will do anything he can to impede the rights of voters."

Dauber, a Stanford University professor, has spearheaded the recall campaign and the petition, which garnered over 94,000 signatures in order to bring the motion to the county's Board of Supervisors. The board
approved adding the recall to the June ballot on Feb. 6.

The decision is coming just in time since the county's final printing date for the June ballot is April 3.

RELATED STORIES:

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• Stanford Rape Case: Judge Persky Recall On Ballot
• Effort To Recall Stanford Rape Trial Judge Continues
• Judge Who Sentenced Stanford Rapist Requests New Assignment
• Order Barring Recall Petition Of Judge In Stanford Rape Case Lifted
• Ballot Measure To Recall Santa Clara Co. Judge Who Sentenced Brock Turner Sought
• Judge On Stanford Rape Case Steps Down From Criminal Court, Requests Reassignment
• Santa Clara County Judge Cleared in Stanford Swimmer Sentence Investigation
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• Father Blasts Dad Of Stanford Rapist In Emotional Letter
• Stanford Rapist's Sentence: Now, With 'Good Behavior,' He'll Serve Only 3 Months
• Online Petition Calls For Removal Of Judge In Stanford Sentencing

By Bay City News Service

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