SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The judge in the Brock Turner Stanford rape case has asked to be reassigned from criminal cases.
Aaron Persky has been under fire for the sentence he handed down to the convicted rapist.
There has been an effort to recall Persky because of the Turner case. Persky sentenced the former Stanford swimmer to 6 months in jail, instead of state prison.
By asking to be taken off criminal cases, that means Persky will only preside over civil cases.
“While I firmly believe in Judge Persky’s ability to serve in his current assignment, he has requested to be assigned to the civil division, in which he previously served. Judge Perky believes the change will aid the public and the court by reducing the distractions that threaten to interfere with his ability to effectively discharge the duties of his current criminal assignment,” Santa Clara County Superior Court spokesman Joseph D. Macaluso said.
“A reassignment is possible due to the request of another judge to relocate to Palo Alto. Although the Presiding Judge normally implements assignment changes in January of each year, when two judges simply want to swap assignments for which they are both eminently qualified, there is no reason to delay implementation of a change they both desire,” he added.
The change will start on Sept. 6.
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