Click here for the latest 2018 California Primary election results in the Bay Area and statewide. The judge whose controversial sentence in a sexual assault case sparked national outrage was booted out of office Tuesday, the first sitting judge to be removed from office in California in nearly a century. Judge Aaron Persky became the target of a well-financed recall campaign aimed at convincing Santa Clara County voters to unseat him after he sentenced former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to six months in jail for the sexual assault of an intoxicated, unconscious woman outside a campus frat party. VIDEO: Leader of the recall Judge Persky campaign reads emotional response. CLICK HERE if you are having trouble viewing the video or photo gallery on your mobile device. Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who led the recall campaign, hailed the outcome. “The vote today — if the numbers hold — is a vote against impunity for high-status offenders of domestic violence and sexual violence,” Dauber said, adding in reference to the victim that, “This victory is not just for Emily Doe, but for girls and women everywhere.” Recall opponent LaDoris Cordell told KPIX that it was unlikely Persky could catch up. “This is a sad day for the California judiciary,” said Cordell, a former Santa Clara County judge who was active in the campaign against the recall. Start your day with the news you need from the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our new Morning Report weekday newsletter. Persky’s decision in the Turner case two years ago sparked widespread fury, fueled by the victim’s powerful impact statement that rapidly spread worldwide on social media and was read aloud in Congress and on national television. In rejecting prosecutors’ request for a six-year prison sentence, the judge said he took into consideration factors such as Turner’s age and lack of a criminal record, the victim’s trauma and the fact that both were drinking. His supporters say it was a lawful sentence, recommended by the probation department, whose advice he often follows. But recall proponents say Turner’s punishment was far too light for the crime and contend the judge has a history of being lenient on men who sexually molest or batter women. Turner wound up serving three months under a policy aimed at reducing jail overcrowding. He’s also required by state law to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Persky is only the fifth judge in California history to be booted out of office before his term is up — and the first in 86 years. Only four judges have been recalled in California since 1911 when recalls became legal in the state. One was in San Francisco in 1913 and three were on the same ballot in Los Angeles in 1932. In 1986, three state Supreme Court justices were removed from office, including Chief Justice Rose Bird, but it was during a general election, not a recall. She was removed in the November 4, 1986 election by a margin of 67% to 33% after a high-profile campaign that cited her categorical opposition to the death penalty. Two candidates ran on the same ballot to succeed Persky: civil attorney Angela Storey and prosecutor Cindy Hendrickson, who supported the recall and appears to have won. The recall — and the broader social questions it raises about violence against women, the justice system’s treatment of sexual assault victims and the latitude judges have to punish defendants — played out just as the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment is sweeping the country. A host of men accused of harassment already have lost their jobs, including TV news anchor Matt Lauer, New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman and Santa Clara City Councilman Dominic Caserta. “I felt Judge Persky was sadly mistaken,” said Campbell resident Leslie Dunscomb, a graphic designer who voted to recall the judge. “Brock Turner got an easy ride because of his stature as a Stanford student and his family connections. I believe he should have been in prison. If it had been my husband he’d be in jail because he wouldn’t have had the money to hire a high- powered attorney.” Recall supporters said Persky should be held accountable for failing to punish Turner more severely. They believed the recall, endorsed by state senator and candidate for governor Kevin de Leon, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and the California Nurses Association, among others, was necessary to send a message that the community needs judges who take violence against women seriously. Recall opponents, including Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen and Public Defender Molly O’Neal, pointed out that the sentence already had led to meaningful change. The case inspired the Legislature to pass new state laws, including one that requires judges to send anyone convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious or drunk person to prison for at least three years. Get breaking news, sports, entertainment and other free email newsletters. Check out the full list and sign up now. Retired engineering manager David Yick agreed with opponents and voted against the recall. “I think he did his job,” the Los Gatos resident said. “He followed the recommendations. It’s an emotional kind of issue and I understand that and they’ve made some changes legislatively, which is where they should. Not pick on the judge.” Related Articles Will the removal of Brock Turner judge prompt a new legal battle? Editorial: What next in the wake of the Persky recall? Persky recall: How did Brock Turner’s sentence lead to this? The judge’s supporters also said recalling Persky would exacerbate injustice by frightening other judges into imposing longer sentences. They argued that independence from popular opinion is what has allowed judges to rule on civil rights, integrated schools, free speech, access to birth control and marriage equality. Replacement candidate Storey, a rape victim herself who has discussed her ordeal during the campaign, called the recall a “dangerous precedent” and said voters should focus on changing laws when they disagree with outcomes rather than removing judges. Hendrickson has declined to comment on the Turner case.<doc-sep>The controversial judge who sparked outrage after offering a lenient sentence to Brock Turner, a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault, was recalled from office Wednesday — becoming the first California jurist recalled from the bench in 86 years. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, 56, became the target of a recall after sentencing Turner, who could have faced 14 years in prison, to only six months behind bars. While the now-famous 2016 sentencing hearing happened before the #MeToo movement took hold over the country, ballots cast Tuesday were made in the backdrop of the movement, which has emboldened sexual assault survivors and forced criminal investigations and oustings of powerful men, most notably with Harvey Weinstein. Persky's supporters contend Turner's sentence was lawful — and the recommended sentence from probation officials. But those calling for the recall say this is just one of many sentences handed down from Persky that were far too light. Two women are running on the ballot to succeed Persky: civil attorney Angela Storey and prosecutor Cindy Hendrickson. The results of the vote came nearly two years after Persky's decision. During the sentencing hearing, Persky cited Turner's age, the fact that both he and the victim were drunk and that prison time could have a "severe" impact on Turner's life as the reasoning behind the lenient six-month sentence. Turner ended up only serving three months due to good behavior. He was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated/unconscious person, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person. The victim, Emily Doe, then 23, read an emotional 7,000-word statement during the sentencing detailing the impact to her life and the horror of the 2015 attack, including taking a shower at the hospital after two bicyclists spotted her being assaulted by Turner and chased him down. "I stood there examining my body beneath the stream of water and decided, I don't want my body anymore. I was terrified of it, I didn't know what had been in it, if it had been contaminated, who had touched it," she said. "I wanted to take off my body like a jacket and leave it at the hospital with everything else." Her statement, published in full by BuzzFeed, quickly went viral. It drew more than 10 million views within four days and resonated with thousands of sexual assault survivors across the nation along with helping others across the nation understand the pain and horror of sexual assault. Within days after the sentencing hearing, Persky was quietly "re-elected" to a six-year term without a vote because he had drawn no challengers. A recall effort was quickly initiated, and a Change.org petition drew more than 1.3 million supporters. Stanford law professor Michele Dauber has led the charge. "Judge Persky has failed women in a very significant way, and the voters are going to hold him accountable," Dauber said. "Many eyes are going to be on Santa Clara County as a model for how to respond to bias against women in the legal system." Persky, who declined to talk with the media in the days and weeks following the sentencing, still won't discuss the case because of pending appeals. But, his polling numbers in decline, Persky did discuss the "misguided" recall effort at a recent news conference. "We ask judges to follow the rule of law, not the rule of public opinion," he said. "The recall, if successful, threatens the integrity of our justice system." Turner met the victim during a fraternity party. Both were drunk and Turner brought the victim outside and assaulted her next to trash bins. Two graduate students on bicycles rode up and saw the unconscious woman being assaulted. They shouted, then tackled Turner when he tried running away.<doc-sep>In the summer of 2016, Brock Turner, a former Stanford swimmer, was sentenced to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a campus dumpster. That sentence, considered by many to be too lenient, provoked a national backlash that foreshadowed the rise of the #MeToo movement. Judge Aaron Persky of State Superior Court in Santa Clara County, who was not widely known before issuing the sentence, quickly became the target of public rage. Persky has said he was following the rule of law, not the rule of public opinion, and says he has no regrets. But in the eyes of many critics, the judge had sent a clear message: The legal system does not take campus sexual assault seriously. The furor against Persky, 56, will culminate on Tuesday when Silicon Valley voters head to the polls to decide whether he should be kicked off the bench. If that happens, Persky would be the first judge recalled in California in 86 years. In recent months, the campaign has divided lawyers, academics, feminists and criminal justice activists across the state, with critics of the recall push saying it would chill judicial independence. The frenzied atmosphere, with its aggressive fundraising, heated rhetoric and reports of vandalism and threats, resembles the height of a much larger political race. Judge Aaron Persky of Santa Clara County Superior Court, in 2011. Jason Doiy / AP file Turner, who was 20 at the time of the sentencing, was convicted of three felonies — two for digitally penetrating an unconscious or intoxicated person, one for assault with intent to commit rape. Prosecutors pushed for a six-year sentence in state prison, but Persky followed the county probation department recommendation of just six months behind bars. "Obviously, a prison sentence would have a severe impact" on Turner, Persky said in announcing his decision. Turner was released after serving three months for good behavior, and he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Michele Dauber, a sociologist and professor at Stanford Law School, has led the recall push and serves as its public face. She believes Persky "abused his discretion and screwed up dramatically," imposing too light a punishment on Turner and adding insult to injury for the victim, known as Emily Doe. (She has kept her identity private.) The recall campaign has raised between $1.2 and $1.3 million, Dauber said. The campaign appears to have popular support, a local poll found. Nearly half, 46 percent, supported removing the judge, compared to 33 percent against, according to a poll of 559 likely voters conducted in May for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and The Mercury News. Emily Doe has not spoken publicly about the recall effort. The closest she's come to addressing it was in an essay for Glamour in November 2016: "When we all make it a priority to avoid harming or violating another human being, and when we hold accountable those who do, when the campaign to recall this judge declares that survivors deserve better, then we are going somewhere." On the other side of the debate are veteran legal professionals who say that ousting Persky could set a dangerous precedent, threatening judicial independence and forcing judges to mete out harsher sentences simply to stave off public outrage and political repercussions. "This recall has targeted a judge who has absolutely no record or history of misconduct, who has never been found to have engaged in misconduct or bias," said LaDoris Cordell, a spokesman for one of the anti-recall efforts and a retired judge who served on the Superior Court of Santa Clara County from 1982 to 2001. Dauber has claimed that Persky has demonstrated a clear pattern of bias — a preference for male defendants accused of sexual misconduct, especially athletes — during his tenure on the bench. But anti-recall forces, including Cordell, have disputed this. The state agency that oversees judicial discipline ruled in December 2016 that Persky committed no misconduct when he sentenced Turner, saying there was no evidence that he had displayed bias. Dauber, however, dismissed that finding by the California Commission on Judicial Performance, calling it a "one-sided, closed-door procedure." Brock Turner in a 2015 booking photo. Santa Clara Coounty Sheriff Persky, who has four years left on his term and has been reassigned from hearing criminal cases at his request, did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday. He has taken to working nights from his house, according to a spokesman for his court. In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Persky said he had no regrets, describing the recall effort as "fundamentally unfair." "I expected some negative reaction. But not this," said Persky, who described himself as the "most hated man on the internet." The recall push has been resisted by parts of the California legal establishment, including Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen. "There is no pattern of abuse or bias by the judge in this case," Rosen said. "This was one bad decision, not a pattern." As of last August, more than 91 law professors — including nearly 30 from Stanford — had signed a statement in "strong opposition" to the campaign, arguing that it "threatens the fundamental principles of judicial independence" and could continue the cycle of mass incarceration by encouraging harsher sentences, particularly for people of color and the poor. "If this judge is recalled, the message to judges everywhere is that you better watch your back, because if you sentence someone in a way that someone will find objectionable, they will take you out," said Lara Bazelon, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law and one of the signatories of the statement. "It's a travesty." Dauber, for her part, rejected concerns about judicial independence. "There is no such thing as an elected official independent of the electorate," she said. And she believed fears over the perpetuation of mass incarceration suggests a "very dim view of the integrity of judges."<doc-sep>
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky was recalled from office by the voters Tuesday, two years after he set off national outrage by sentencing a Stanford athlete to six months in jail for sexually assaulting and attempting to rape an unconscious woman. With 43 percent of precincts reporting, 59 percent of the county’s voters favored recalling Persky while 41 percent opposed the recall. On the same ballot, Assistant District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson led civil rights lawyer Angela Storey, 70 to 30 percent, in the election to serve the last four years of Persky’s term. Takeaway: Persky, a judge for 15 years, is the first California jurist to be recalled since 1932. “This is a sad day for the California judiciary,” said LaDoris Cordell, a former Santa Clara County judge who was active in the campaign against the recall. She said the vote sends a message to judges that “if they don’t go along with popular opinion ... they can lose their job.” Henderson, Persky’s successor, has been a Santa Clara County prosecutor since 1995. She supported the recall and was endorsed by the campaign’s organizer. “My goal was to give voters a meaningful choice in the recall election,” she said Tuesday night. She promised to “work really hard to gain the respect of my fellow judges.” Now Playing: For the first time since 1977 people power has forced a sitting US judge out of office. In 2016 Judge Aaron Persky faced international criticism for giving ex-Stanford student Brock Turner a six-month jail term, He was found guilty of three felonies after sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, for which the law prescribed a minimum of two years. Long before the #MeToo movement exploded, the lenient sentence spurred Stanford law professor Michele Landis Dauber, a family friend of the victim, to launch the successful recall campaign. Video: Euronews Persky did not issue a statement after the vote. Organizers of the recall could not be reached for comment. Background: Persky, 56, was a deputy district attorney who prosecuted sex crimes before Gov. Gray Davis appointed him to the bench in 2003. He won two new six-year terms without opposition and drew little public attention or criticism until 2016, when he presided over the sexual assault trial of Stanford student Brock Turner. Turner, 19 at the time, was arrested after two graduate students on bicycles discovered him late one night in January 2015 lying on top of an unconscious woman and caught him when he tried to run away. Turner denied assaulting the 22-year-old woman, maintaining they had acted consensually after meeting at a fraternity party where both had been drinking heavily, but a jury convicted him of three felonies. The crimes were punishable by up to 14 years in prison, and prosecutors sought a six-year sentence. But Persky noted that the court’s probation officer had recommended a jail sentence of a year or less after speaking with the victim. The judge also cited Turner’s youth and lack of a criminal record, the “severe impact” a prison term would have on him, and his obligation to register annually with police as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The victim, identified only as Emily Doe, spoke at the sentencing hearing, telling Turner he had taken away “my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence.” She said she considered the proposed jail sentence “an insult to me and all women.” The statement went viral, galvanized women’s rights advocates, and touched off a campaign that generated nearly 100,000 signatures on recall petitions. It was also instrumental in the rapid enactment of a new state law requiring at least three years in prison for sexual penetration of an unconscious victim. The recall campaign was organized by Michele Dauber, a Stanford law professor whose daughter was a friend of Emily Doe. Dauber accused Persky — a former Stanford lacrosse player — of bias in favor of athletes and affluent white defendants. In one of those cases, Persky allowed a man charged with domestic violence to go to Hawaii and try out for the college football team, and to return there after pleading guilty. In another, he gave a domestic violence defendant a jail sentence that allowed him to attend football practices. The state Commission on Judicial Performance examined those cases, and Turner’s, and said they failed to show that Persky was biased.