[Note: Friends of Justice is a personal blog. I speak only for myself.]
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“When we as a community reprimand or condemn a judge for engaging in such a holistic analysis and for exercising discretion, such efforts can have a chilling effect on judicial courage and compassion,” the letter states. Punishing him, the defenders explain, will “deter other judges from extending mercy and instead encourage them to issue unfairly harsh sentences for fear of reprisal.” The Santa Clara County Bar Association has also released a statement saying that removing Persky would be a “threat to judicial independence.”
Read the article by Maurice Chammah at the Marshall Project.
The judicial system should be about justice, not punishment. Why do we want to punish this judge for doing his job? This judge should not be removed. He did his job. Sentencing someone to go behind bars for any period of time is a severe punishment, plus in this case being labeled as a sex predator in jail is going to cause him a lot of trouble. Other inmates will try to hurt him as is frequently the case. Additionally, he will be in the sex offender’s registry for life, which means a lot of difficulty to find and keep a job (any job) and housing. Judges know what the charges mean and what they bring to the person. Jail time was another punishment and the guy will go through hell during those 6 months and the rest of his life as a Registered Sex Offender. How many of those asking the judge to be removed took the time to learn about the laws and the researches done about the subject of Sex Offenders laws?