President's Message: Implicit Bias - We Must See It To Avoid It: CWL Calls for Mandatory Training on Sexual Assault for All Judges

This past June we heard about the massive public outcry created by Santa Clara Superior Court County Judge Michael Aaron Persky who sentenced Brock Turner, a fellow white male alumni of Stanford University, to 6 months in county jail after Turner was convicted of three felony counts for sexually assaulting a woman who was too intoxicated to consent or defend herself. Judge Persky attempted to justify his minimal sentence for the defendant, stating "[a] prison sentence would have a severe impact on him". See the full article. This type of bias should not be allowed in our judiciary.

In reaction, California Women Lawyers (CWL) sent an open letter to the California Judicial Council (with a copy to California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye) this month calling for mandatory training on sexual assault and domestic violence as part of its implicit bias training for all judicial officers in the State. In the letter, CWL explained that the lack of accurate knowledge about sexual assault and domestic violence not only perpetuates myths in our judicial system but also results in biased sentences such as Judge Persky's sentence. "For a judge to look at Turner, a man convicted of three felony accounts and say 'he will not be a danger to others' defies rational perception and perpetuates harmful stereotypes," according to CWL's letter written by CWL Board Member Danielle de Smeth. "Judicial canons require more."