SACRAMENTO — A state judicial commission on Monday declined to punish Aaron Persky, the Santa Clara County Superior Court judge who was widely criticized for the six-month jail sentence he imposed on a former Stanford University student accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.
The state Commission on Judicial Performance, in a rare 12-page explanation of its decision to close its investigation, acknowledged receiving “thousands of complaints and petitions” targeting Persky but said it found no proof of misconduct that would warrant any admonishment or other form of discipline.
“The commission is not a reviewing court—it has no power to reverse judicial decisions or to direct any court to do so,” commissioners wrote in their public statement. “The commission has concluded that there is not clear and convincing evidence of bias, abuse of authority, or other basis to conclude that Judge Persky engaged in judicial misconduct warranting discipline.” [Read Full Article]
