[5] In 2016, Persky gained attention after his ruling in the case People v. Turner, in which he sentenced Stanford University student Brock Turner to six months in jail for the sexual assault and attempted rape of an unconscious 22-year-old woman, Chanel Miller, using the sentence recommended by the Santa Clara County Probation Department.
[6][7] The sentence led to public outrage and was criticized by prosecutors and victims' rights advocates as being influenced by race, gender, and class bias.
[17] In 2002, Persky unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Superior Court of California in Santa Clara County,[17] losing to Ron Del Pozzo, who was also a deputy DA.
[19][24] In 2016, Persky received international media attention and widespread criticism for sentencing Brock Allen Turner, a 20-year-old Stanford student convicted of three felony counts of sexual assault, to six months in jail and three years of probation.
[25][26] During sentencing, Persky said he considered the factors noted by the Probation Office and the "severe impact" of imprisonment on the defendant's life.
Online petitions calling for Persky to be removed following his lenient sentencing in the Turner case attracted over a million signatures by June 10, 2016.
[31] Professor Michele Dauber, a sociologist at the Stanford Law School and longtime advocate on campus sexual assault,[32] who is also a family friend of the victim Chanel Miller, led the committee to Recall Judge Persky.
[34] Santa Clara County district attorney Jeff Rosen said "Judicial independence is a critical part of the U.S. justice system.
"[35] Danny Cevallos stated that judges enjoy a modicum of independence from public pressure, and "there are no apparent grounds for impeachment or allegations of judicial misconduct, based on this sentence alone."
"[38] Similarly, other sitting judges (both state and federal) and legal commentators defended Persky's decision, noted that the sentence might, in their opinion, be disproportionate due to the lifelong consequences of a criminal conviction and sex offender registration, and called on the bar to protect the independence of the judiciary.
[39][40][41] In June 2016, at least ten prospective jurors refused to serve in a misdemeanor trial for possession of stolen property where Persky was presiding, citing the judge's sentencing of Turner as a reason.
[42] The following week, Rosen filed a peremptory motion for recusal in a case where Persky was to preside over the criminal trial of a male surgical nurse charged with sexual battery for allegedly touching the genitals and breasts of a female patient under sedation.
"[42] As a result of the backlash in the wake of his sentencing of Turner, Persky asked not to hear any more criminal cases, and was reassigned to the Civil Division of the California Court system.
[43] In 2011, Persky presided over a civil lawsuit against multiple members of the De Anza College baseball team, who were accused by the minor plaintiff, "Jane Doe", of gang-raping her while she was unconscious until a passerby intervened.
According to a lawyer for Doe, that was a critical juncture: it prevented the plaintiff's legal team from obtaining evidence that could have helped them pursue their case.
[28][46][47] The move to recall Persky was opposed by the Santa Clara County public defender, who said she was "alarmed by the hysteria" about the Turner sentence.
In addition, the Santa Clara Bar Association issued a statement opposing the recall, saying that it was unaware “of any other complaints or allegations of impropriety against Judge Persky during his 13 years on the bench.
[62] A 2022 study found that the recall of Persky subsequently led California judges to give more punitive sentencing, which followed pre-existing racial disparities against African American and Hispanic defendants, and predominantly involved non-sexual violent crimes.