Judge Aaron Persky: Prospective jurors refuse to serve

[alp227]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

At least 10 prospective jurors who oppose Judge Aaron Persky's decision to spare former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner prison for a sex crime refused this week to serve on a jury in a unrelated case he is handling.

"I can't be here, I'm so upset,'' one juror told the judge while the lawyers were picking the jury in the misdemeanor receiving stolen property case.

Another prospective juror stood up and said, "I can't believe what you did,'' referring to the six-month county jail sentence Persky handed to Turner, who was convicted for sexually assaulting an unconscious intoxicated woman last year outside a Stanford University frat party.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_29997198/judge-aaron-persky-prospective-jurors-refuse-serve

[Raster]

1. well Judge Persky, what did you expect?

[elljay]

39. He expected business as usual

Big mistake this year!

[FBaggins]

2. Wow

It's interesting... because I don't think that he can hold them in contempt for what is actually justifiable contempt.

[Dustlawyer]

9. They are within their rights to express why they cannot serve in his court.

It is part of what "Voir Dire" (speak the truth) is all about!

[FBaggins]

18. Certainly

But that translates to them (properly) having contempt for the judge... but it isn't grounds to hold them legally in contempt of court.

[rug]

30. Part of their oath requires them to follow the law as it is given to them by the presiding judge.

If they said they could, they'd be charged with perjury, not contempt.

[LonePirate]

3. Bravo to those jurors for taking a stand against Persky.

[Brickbat]

4. That's remarkable.

[TwilightZone]

17. That was my exact initial reaction.

[bluestateguy]

5. I sure wouldn't waste my invaluable, very special time by serving on a jury in his court

nt

[47of74]

10. Specially since he wouldn't do a goddamn thing if you returned a guilty verdict.

[Sherman A1]

6. K&R

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Interesting - jurors do need to be able to trust a judge

and if significant numbers of them cannot, there's a good case that he needs to resign from any case with a jury.

[Spazito]

8. Kudos to those jurors!

If enough do it, maybe the case/s in question will be reassigned to a judge who still has the respect of the public.

[lark]

11. Funny, you don't hear Trump ranting about this judge.

I'd bet he's totally OK with the verdict, the cad.

[mountain grammy]

12. Excellent!

[Surya Gayatri]

13. Standing up for justice, one brave prospective juror at a time. BRAVO!!!

[ailsagirl]

14. Actions have consequences n/t

[Geronimoe]

15. Sorry I can not serve

you Persky make me want to heave my meal.

[allan01]

16. if you are a celeb , athlete , politician and or rich you can get away with anythng

[passiveporcupine]

20. the word is affluent

Like the previous affluent teen excuse.

Only this time it's because he is a star athlete...another unjustifiable excuse. Kobe Bryant?

what kind of person decides someone in the money or in the public eye is going to contribute more to society than their victims, so they don't deserve jail time?

[radicalliberal]

21. You are absolutely right!

Celebs, athletes, politicians, and the rich -- America's overly privileged royalty.

The Special People.

[IronLionZion]

19. Good for those jurors for doing something

this dude needs to be removed from the bench or pressured to resign.

[Eleanors38]

51. Jury Nullification before it happens. Heh.

[Hekate]

22. Bravo!

[dhill926]

23. this takes some cojones...

I was just up for jury duty a couple weeks ago. Courtrooms can be intimidating...as can judges. Good for them.

[Ilsa]

24. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the case.

If I was in the courtroom, I think I'd be staring at him, dumbfounded.

[ckimmy57]

43. Ditto

Only I would be glaring at him with contempt.

[Scruffy1]

25. I hope someone is looking into his finances.

This call is so rank that I have to suspect some dollars changed hands.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

26. I will credit Persky with one thing, that at least he did not attempt to jail them

If I were in his courtroom, I would do the same and ask I be reassigned to another jury pool outside of his court so none of his "supporters" could accuse me of being some sort of scofflaw.

[Hoppy]

33. Under the principle of Jury Nullification, they can use that as a reason to not participate.

[NutmegYankee]

35. That was my concern when I first saw the headline.

A judge has near god-like powers in his little fiefdom that is a courtroom.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

36. And many of them HATE to be shown up or criticized

[DinahMoeHum]

42. I doubt he has any real authority to do so, anyway.

It's called voir dire, meaning, speak truth. These potential jurors are speaking the truth in his courtroom, indicating why they cannot and do not wish to serve in his court.

[msanthrope]

48. He has no grounds to jail them. nt

[unblock]

27. hmm, taken to the next level, this could be grounds for appeal

say i'm the defendant in this "unrelated" case, and found guilty after several prospective jurors had pulled themselves out because they didn't like the judge.

i would think i could argue on appeal that i didn't get a fair trial because potential jurors with an awareness of the world around them and a sense of fair play didn't serve, leaving behind a jury that was less aware and had less of a sense of fair play, resulting in a bias toward conviction.

an appeals court could of course decide the bias would likely go the other way, but it sure doesn't look good if the jury selection process is distorted by "unrelated" actions of the judge.

[niyad]

28. a serious THANK YOU to those brave and ethical people.

and a great big FU to that worthless pos former lacrosse captain, stanford alum "judge", who thinks it is okay to ruin a rape survivor's life, but not the life of the RAPIST.

[Crash2Parties]

38. Hey, now...kid's entire summer vacay might be ruined.

Almost seems like the sentencing and punishment really was planned so that it wouldn't affect his schooling in the slightest.

[niyad]

44. wonder which school he will grace with his presence.

[GOLGO 13]

29. It's off to traffic court for you judge asshole.

I hope more jurors keep doing this to him. Even if they don't feel the outrage, it might get him shipped to traffic court.

[smirkymonkey]

31. Good for them!

More resistance is needed when it comes to corrupt judges like Persky. He needs to be made an example of.

[avaistheone1]

32. Stunning!

Wow! And it is high time Bill Cosby is taken to task now too.

[Judi Lynn]

34. May their numbers increase! Thank you. n/t

[avebury]

37. Persky is unfit to serve as a judge.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/stanford-rapist-brock-turner-lied-substance-abuse-history-article-1.2665733

He should be thoroughly investigated.

[elljay]

40. I'm sure many, if not most

of DU readers have been drunk or used drugs. Anyone here rape someone while under the influence? How about assault? Betting the answer is no because that kind of behavior doesn't arise out of nowhere. The judge knows this because Many if not most of the criminal cases he sees involve alcohol or drugs in some fashion.

[niyad]

45. and, as it turns out, there do appear to be some drug or drink incidents.

[susanna]

41. Hmmm...essentially, a vote of no confidence. Persky deserves this. n/t

[LiberalFighter]

46. I hope more of them do that.

I would tell the judge that it was pointless for their to be a jury when the judge won't impose an appropriate sentence.

[Paladin]

47. Good. I hope such courtroom protests continue for a long time. (nt)

[myrna minx]

49. K&R

[sendero]

50. A ray of light...

... actions have consequences, even if you are a judge.

[TexasBushwhacker]

52. JUDGE IN BROCK TURNER CASE HAS RULED IN FAVOR OF ATHLETES ACCUSED OF RAPE IN THE PAST

It seems he just thinks athletes should be able to rape passed out women.

http://www.sportsgrid.com/swimming/judge-in-brock-turner-case-has-ruled-in-favor-of-athletes-accused-of-rape-in-the-past/

"IN ONE SUCH RULING, PERSKY ALLOWED LAWYERS FOR THE BASEBALL PLAYERS TO SHOW FACEBOOK PHOTOS OF THE FEMALE PLAINTIFF SOCIALIZING IN REVEALING CLOTHING MORE THAN SIX MONTHS AFTER THE ALLEGED SEX ASSAULT." (Sorry, the CAPS are from the article)

The bottom line is that Persky seems to think the being drunk makes the rape the victim's fault and the rapist's excuse. It's obvious Persky has issues with women. I wonder if he has issues with alcohol as well.