Judge recall effort undermines judicial independence

Efforts by Stanford University law professor Michele Dauber to recall Judge Aaron Persky for the six month sentence given Aaron Brock for assault and attempted rape of an unconscious acquaintance are misguided and should be withdrawn. Persky is a wise and fair judge whose career and sentence in the Brock case is supported by his peers. 

"He is an absolutely solid and respected judge," said Santa Clara County deputy public defender Gary Goodman. "Persky made the right decision." Barbara Muller, a criminal defense attorney who works two weeks a month in Persky's court, says he "is definitely one of the fairest judges in the county. He considers all facts and is very thorough. He plays it right down the middle."

Law professor Dauber, a friend of the victim, should know better than to undermine a 13 year tenured judge with a rock solid reputation and no disciplinary record. Critics of Persky and Brock have gone berserk on social media, comparing white, affluent defendant Brock to poor black defendants receiving much longer sentences for lesser crimes. They're having apoplexy over the tone deaf statement of Brock's father. Neither of these side bar tales are relevant to the wisdom and justice of the sentence handed down: six months in jail, three years probation, and a lifetime slot on the nation's sex offender registry. Given all the circumstances of the defendant's background and all the circumstances of the crime, the sentence provides justice to the victim, society and the defendant. 

It's time to stop obsessing solely on excessive incarceration which endlessly and wastefully warehouses folks who are not deemed likely to offend again and are good candidates for re-rehabilitation. Brock fits that profile which is why the Santa Clara County Probation Office recommended the sentence which Persky agreed with and handed down. 

There are bad judges who hand down poor sentences; a majority, no doubt, excessive, to placate a vengeful public. Good judges like Persky must be free to dispense the wise justice so critical to both a safe and humane society.