Post by Marshal on Dec 14, 2012 5:26:47 GMT 4
Published: Dec. 13, 2012 Updated: 4:52 p.m.
O.C. judge admonished for insensitive remarks on rape
By LARRY WELBORN / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An Orange County judge was admonished by a state commission Thursday for making "outdated, biased and insensitive" remarks about rape victims who do not "put up a fight" during a 2008 sentencing hearing.
Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson, a former prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney's Office sex crimes unit, acknowledged in a statement to the California Commission on Judicial Performance that his comments were inappropriate, according to a seven-page report issued Thursday, and he issued an apology.
He explained that he was frustrated with a prosecutor during an argument in 2008 over sentencing and was trying to make a distinction between the case before him and more aggravated cases cited by the prosecutor, according to the decision.
The case involved a man who was convicted of rape, forcible oral copulation, domestic battery, stalking and criminal threats against a former girlfriend. The woman reported the threats first, and then told police about being raped 17 days later, the report said.
The prosecutor in the case asked for a 16-year prison sentence, arguing for consecutive prison terms for rape and oral copulation. Johnson instead gave the man a six-year prison term.
"I'm not a gynecologist," Johnson said during the sentencing hearing, a transcript included in the commission's report said. "But I can tell you something: If someone doesn't want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted, and we have heard nothing about that in this case.
"That tells me the victim ... although she wasn't necessarily willing, she didn't put up a fight," the judge continued. "And to treat this case like rape cases that we all hear about is an insult to victims of rape. I think it's an insult. I think it trivializes rape."
The remarks first became known to the commission in May 2012, the report said.
The commission found, among other things, that some of Johnson's statements reflected his own view that a victim must resist for there to be a "real" sexual assault. And that viewpoint, commission Chairman Lawrence J. Simi wrote, is contrary to law.
"Such comments cannot help but diminish public confidence and trust in the impartiality of the judiciary," the commission report states. "At a minimum, the judge's conduct constituted improper action.
Paul Meyer, Johnson's attorney, declined to comment Thursday, and said Johnson would also not make any statement.
A public admonishment is the lowest form of public discipline issued by the state commission, which oversees the conduct of judicial officers.
Johnson remains on the Orange County bench, presiding over a courtroom the Newport Harbor Judicial District. Superior Court judges earn $178,789 annually, the governor's website said.
O.C. judge admonished for insensitive remarks on rape
By LARRY WELBORN / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An Orange County judge was admonished by a state commission Thursday for making "outdated, biased and insensitive" remarks about rape victims who do not "put up a fight" during a 2008 sentencing hearing.
Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson, a former prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney's Office sex crimes unit, acknowledged in a statement to the California Commission on Judicial Performance that his comments were inappropriate, according to a seven-page report issued Thursday, and he issued an apology.
He explained that he was frustrated with a prosecutor during an argument in 2008 over sentencing and was trying to make a distinction between the case before him and more aggravated cases cited by the prosecutor, according to the decision.
The case involved a man who was convicted of rape, forcible oral copulation, domestic battery, stalking and criminal threats against a former girlfriend. The woman reported the threats first, and then told police about being raped 17 days later, the report said.
The prosecutor in the case asked for a 16-year prison sentence, arguing for consecutive prison terms for rape and oral copulation. Johnson instead gave the man a six-year prison term.
"I'm not a gynecologist," Johnson said during the sentencing hearing, a transcript included in the commission's report said. "But I can tell you something: If someone doesn't want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted, and we have heard nothing about that in this case.
"That tells me the victim ... although she wasn't necessarily willing, she didn't put up a fight," the judge continued. "And to treat this case like rape cases that we all hear about is an insult to victims of rape. I think it's an insult. I think it trivializes rape."
The remarks first became known to the commission in May 2012, the report said.
The commission found, among other things, that some of Johnson's statements reflected his own view that a victim must resist for there to be a "real" sexual assault. And that viewpoint, commission Chairman Lawrence J. Simi wrote, is contrary to law.
"Such comments cannot help but diminish public confidence and trust in the impartiality of the judiciary," the commission report states. "At a minimum, the judge's conduct constituted improper action.
Paul Meyer, Johnson's attorney, declined to comment Thursday, and said Johnson would also not make any statement.
A public admonishment is the lowest form of public discipline issued by the state commission, which oversees the conduct of judicial officers.
Johnson remains on the Orange County bench, presiding over a courtroom the Newport Harbor Judicial District. Superior Court judges earn $178,789 annually, the governor's website said.
