It’s been quite a week, but the draft is over, finally, so I have some thoughts and analysis on what happened:
• My round one notes
• My round two notes
• My NL team-by-team recaps
I’m still writing the AL recaps and will have those up by tomorrow.
I chatted before the draft and after the first five rounds.
Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter.
And now, the links…
- The judge who gave Stanford rapist Brock Turner six months, saying a longer sentence would have a “severe impact” on this sentient pile of shit, has been the target of threats after the ruling. Here’s the one threat I can get behind: an effort to recall Judge Persky, which I’d hope you would sign and back if you live in Santa Clara County.
- Of course, it’s hard to get too optimistic when voters in Orange County re-elected a judge censured for having sex with two law students in chambers, as well as failing to recuse himself in a case where he had a conflict of interest.
- There’s a new restaurant in LA called Birdies that sells fried chicken, donuts, and good coffee. Why eat anywhere else in LA?
- The Appalachian tradition of salt-rising bread, fermented with Clostridium perfringens, a Gram-positive bacterium that causes food poisoning, is vanishing. Baking kills the bacteria, of course.
- Angola’s bushmeat markets are alive and well, even though they’re illegal.
- A Twitter user who was harassed by vaccine-denier assholes ended up having Twitter give them her home address as she tried to get the site to take down photos of her infant child that the harassers were using. (I looked up two of the main harassers; one I’d already blocked, the other had blocked me.)
- Some actual good news on the vaccine front: researchers have developed the first vaccine for toxic shock syndrome, a dangerous type of staph infection, and the FDA has approved a new cholera vaccine for travelers to affected areas.
- Also, we’re cranking up requirements for the meningitis B vaccine, which is particularly recommended for adolescents and college students. If you’ve got a kid going to college, make sure s/he has gotten this shot.
- Donald Trump is being sued many times over for not paying tradesworkers and employees, as well as numerous other liens for back pay.
- Japanese knotweed is the hot new ingredient in kitchens, and since it’s a destructive, invasive plant, no one has to worry about sustainability.
- Some parenting anti-tips on how to teach your daughters that their consent doesn’t matter.
- Scientists have found antibiotic-resistant “super bacteria” pretty much everywhere in Rio. These Olympics might be an all-time disaster, and no one who matters seems to be willing to entertain the possibility of moving or canceling the games. Money talks, even if we might get a global pandemic as a result.
One of the Twitter users in the harassment article kind of hits on every conspiracy there is in their feed. Moon landing, Holocaust denial, Sandy Hook, Boston Marathon, Vaxxer, and already has an opinion on the Orlando night club shooting last night. I wonder if they are just a hard core solipsist.
Recalling the judge is a bad idea borne of ignorance of the sentencing system.
The probation officer, who in this case was a woman, recommended 6 months. The victim in the case is quoted in the probation report as saying “I don’t want him to rot away in jail; he doesn’t need to be behind bars.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/06/10/probation-officers-report-for-brock-turners-sentencing/
The judge makes his sentencing decision based mostly on the probation report. If you have an issue with the sentence, your issue is more with the probation report (again, prepared by a woman and typically made in coordination with the prosecuting attorneys). Again, you’re going to have to discount the victim saying jail isn’t the best option for the convict. And you are also going to have to note that the prosecution was aiming, at most, for a 6 year sentence when the max is 12.
Finally, ask any attorney which is a worse punishment for a 20 year-old: 6 years in jail, or having to register as a sex offender for life. I guarantee the majority will say that living the rest of your life as a registered sex offender is a far worse fate, which Brock Turner will be forced to live with.
Did you read the probation report before deciding to try and recall this judge? Did you even know what a probation report is?
You were making good points, worthy of discussion, until you reached the end and decided to make it personal.
I asked if, before calling for the removal of an officer of the court who was duly appointed by our judicial system, you had the most elementary knowledge of criminal justice sentencing procedure. This is not like a representative voting on legislation. This is the judicial system. I get very peeved when people who are ignorant of the judicial process decide to attempt some sort of mob overthrow of a system that is designed to subvert the transient passions of voters.
There was precisely nothing Judge Persky could have done differently in his sentencing. Before demanding a judge LOSE HIS JOB, and attempting to mobilize your readers to take action against him, I feel like it’d be appropriate for you to educate yourself on the duties of a judge.
You made it personal against Judge Persky, and frankly I find your advocacy for this course of action to be irresponsible. Sorry?
Also, those last two questions were not meant as a taunt or an attack. Those last two questions were not rhetorical. I’m genuinely curious. Did you know what a probation report is, and did you read the probation report in this particular case?
There was precisely nothing Judge Persky could have done differently in his sentencing.
This is false. Probation reports are nonbinding.
The recall effort, by the way, was begun by a law professor at Stanford, Michelle Dauber. Do you believe she is uneducated on the duties of a judge?
You also misquoted the victim, which, given your adversarial tone, I assume was deliberate, but perhaps you are the one who didn’t read a critical document – the victim’s statement, which has been published pretty much everywhere:
In light of this, I believe your last two questions were a taunt, and over the line.
The victim’s statement is nowhere near as critical as the probation report. The victim’s statement, which went viral, was not used in the probation report. The probation report is just about the end-all-be-all. It is not technically “binding”, but it is virtually always used as the sentence. If the probation report misquoted the victim, or was prepared improperly, your issue should not be with Persky, but with the probation officer (Laura Garnette… get into contact with her! https://www.sccgov.org/sites/opa/nr/Pages/Laura-Garnette-Chief-Probation-Officer.aspx).
If you are asking the judge to blow way past the sentencing recommendation made by the probation officer, you are asking him to take a step that is rarely used. It’s the nuclear option for a judge.
The victim’s statement that got shared all over Buzzfeed and Twitter is not, in any way, as useful a document as the probation report. I did not misquote the victim, the quote is used verbatim in the probation report I linked to at Washington Post earlier. The actual victim’s statement, the only one that is relevant in the sentencing process, is the one I quoted. See the quote for yourself. It is the final paragraph of the 5th page of the probation report.
Do not get me started on Michele Dauber, who is transparently using this high profile case to call attention to herself and launch a political career.
You’ve now moved the goalposts. First, you said, “There was precisely nothing Judge Persky could have done differently in his sentencing.” Now, you’re saying, “If you are asking the judge to blow way past the sentencing recommendation made by the probation officer, you are asking him to take a step that is rarely used.” So which is it? It certainly seems like you’ve admitted your first statement was inaccurate: He could have ignored the probation report’s recommendations, considered the prosecution’s sentencing request, and given Turner a longer sentence commensurate with the crime. In fact, the recommendation was less than the minimum sentence for felony sexual battery in California, which is two, three, or four years in state prison. (He was convicted of a felony, but sentenced as if convicted of a misdemeanor.) The probation report suggested a suspended sentence for a felony sexual assault. Judge Persky had the right to ignore this recommendation.
Since Turner’s actions indicate a likelihood that he suffers from a paraphilia around coercive sex, and thus a high likelihood of recidivism, something that appears to have been completely overlooked in both the probation report and the decision, it seems well within reason to question the judge’s decision and perhaps his motives.
I’m not interested in your ad hominem arguments against Dauber. She’s a law professor, and thus should at least know the duties of a judge. If you’re a law professor, I would have no way of knowing, as you’re writing under an alias.
The victim herself said, as I showed above, that she wanted Turner in jail. It appears that she disputes the probation report’s author’s claim that she was only interested in Turner receiving ‘treatment,’ and she made it quite clear in her statement that she wanted Turner to receive more jail time than the recommended six months. You’re ignoring the clear implication here that the probation report’s author was, herself, at fault here, for misrepresenting the victim and her words.
You may feel this is insufficient grounds for a recall, but you have not made any serious argument to support your initial claim that Judge Persky’s sentence was not only correct but was the only possible sentence he could dole out. You’ve also failed to acknowledge that you made at least two false claims in your first comment, one about Judge Persky having no choice, the other about “the victim saying jail isn’t the best option for the convict,” which she patently did not say, and has reiterated after the probation report was submitted. Unless you can restate your argument and admit that you based your first post here on bogus claims, I don’t see where we can proceed from here.
Turner is going to jail, for 3 months. His likelihood of recidivism is less than you think. He was heavily intoxicated at the time, and an impaired mental state is indeed factored into sentencing guidelines, as is age and lack of priors. Once more, sentencing a 20 year-old to live the rest of his life as a registered sex offender is the real bulk of this sentence. That is a tremendous punishment.
It is possible that I misstated how unusual and unlikely it is that a judge would dole out a significantly harsher punishment than the probation report recommended. I should have used clearer language initially, especially considering you had already clearly demonstrated your lack of familiarity with how this process usually works. Of course the judge could have made the sentence longer. But a judge following the probation officer’s recommendation is not grounds for a recall. Not even close.
Additionally, I concede that phrasing should have conceded that the victim implied that an extended prison sentence was not the best option, as opposed to no jail time at all.
Dauber does well know the duties of a judge, but is clearly demagoguing this issue. That is my read of the situation and you are more than welcome to disagree with it.
I find it telling that you never did get around to answering the two questions I initially asked at the bottom of my comment. I am pretty well convinced that you did not understand how important a probation report is, and I’m even more convinced that you had not (have not?) read it. Also, the probation report is made with heavy input from the prosecution, who tellingly shot for a 6 year sentence when the max is 12.
So, given all that, please do clearly state that:
1. You have a problem with the way probation report was written.
2. You think that a judge following the sentencing guidelines provided by a probation officer is grounds for a recall.
And, finally, answer the questions I asked in my first comment.
I wasn’t avoiding anything; it was an unwarranted personal attack, one which you are continuing. You need to stop it or I will ban you from commenting. You’re going beyond mere disagreement; you’re acting like a child.
And yes, I know what a probation report is, I read it first, I have a problem with how it was written because the victim clearly does, and I think that taken as a whole his actions in this case are sufficient to hold a recall election.
Also, your friend Prof. Dauber explains quite well why Judge Persky’s error was grievous, in large part because he absolved Turner of some guilt because he was drunk. To continue her argument, the law in California doesn’t say “register as a sex offender OR get two to four years in state jail,” it says “register as a sex offender AND get two to four years in state jail.”
There are good arguments against the recall – this article enumerates several – but you have not offered one. I believe your sole interest here is in trying to attack me by making me appear uninformed.
mad online
Keith,
My suspicion regarding a lot of the people making the most noise about recalling this judge (in my social networking world, anyway) is the same people saying “this guy’s gotta go for such a weak sentence!” are the same types who hate mandatory minimums because they don’t allow a judge any flexibility or freedom during sentencing.
What are your thoughts on mandatory minimums for drug sentencing? I honestly have no idea and am genuinely curious. If you favor them, that’s fine, although I disagree. If, like me, you think mandatory minimums are not a great idea, how do we reconcile that position with wanting to recall a judge for instituting a seemingly unfairly soft sentence?
I agree with you that mandatory minimums on drug sentencing are awful, but I also believe we should decriminalize drug possession to begin with.
The disconnect here between your example and the Turner case is that the latter is a violent crime, and the defendant was convicted of a felony, but received a sentence as if he’d been convicted of a misdemeanor. No one would stand for a murderer getting a short sentence because jail might be too hard for him, so why is it acceptable for Persky to give Turner, convicted of sexual battery, a free pass?
DMCA complaints are required to be forwarded to the accused party aren’t they?
Chris certainly has some points worthy of discussion and I agree that blame falls on more than just the judge here. It’s the whole system. But the one point of his that I must disagree with is that Brock Turner “will be forced to live with” the stigma of being a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. Forgive me if I don’t cry about this. This is not a 18 year-old boy caught having sex with his 17 year-old girlfriend or some similar gray area. This is a man who committed a violent sexual assault on an unconscious woman. He is exactly the type of person who should be required to register for the rest of his life.
Klaw- Thanks as always for your work, both in baseball and in “Sticking to Baseball”. A friend is an attorney in Orange County and has encountered the Judge who just got re-elected. Thought you might appreciate his two cents (all names removed for obvious reasons):
“I was in his office once with several prosecuting lawyers and criminal defense lawyers. I was there on behalf of a client as the trustee of his trust to explain to the judge that my client has a limited mental capacity, to document his mental problems and to answer any questions the judge or prosecuting attorney might want to ask. The judge listened to what I had to say and, while I did not like his answer, I have come to learn from other judges that his answer on how the system deals with people like my client is correct.
The judge worked in an efficient manner, knew the law and seemed to be liked and trusted by all of the lawyers.
As for him being a POS (my choice of words I sent to him along with your article), I do not condone his behavior, nor did I vote for him in this last election. I voted for one of his opponents who did not get the word out. It is a fact that it is very hard to win an election against an incumbent judge, unless you spend a fortune educating the public on why the judge should not be reelected. Sometimes the media does a good enough job to unseat an incumbent judge, but more often than not, the media does not do enough. While I knew what the judge had done, I do not think the word got out to the public until after the election.”
It’s important to remember, especially during presidential election cycles, that real impact on our lives begins at the city and county level. I suppose I can take solace in the fact that at least he is a respected and supposedly competent judge, though it is disheartening how little attention local elections get and that people like that judge get away with what they do. It sends a very poor message to the public that you can act unethically and as more likely than not you’ll never have to face any consequences.
Keith, complete aside from the commentary above, Birdie’s is just two blocks away from my work and its outstanding. The fact that they serve Intelligentsia alone is worth it.
Keith, I just wanted to thank you for spending so much of your time with us folks on the internet. I’m wondering if there’s any chance you’ll come to Macon next year? I had a trip planned the weekend you were at Mercer! Incidentally, I would have recommended Dovetail to you.
You’re welcome. I doubt I’ll be in Macon again soon, though; this was only the second time I’ve been there in 10+ years with ESPN.
Hi Keith –
I saw you linked to an article about Donald Trump. I was curious as to why you haven’t linked to the articles about Hillary and how Russia stole top secret documents from her server? Or how she received a report that showed the White House is backing ISIS in the ME? Or how the State Dept. stopped an investigation into the mosque that the Orlando shooter belonged to (several years ago)? These seem to be far more severe and damaging than the hit pieces about DT.
I enjoy your baseball writing. Thank you.