The Santa Clara County District Attorney's office has taken the unusual step of removing Judge Aaron Persky from a new sexual assault case, saying "we lack confidence that Judge Persky can fairly participate in this upcoming hearing".
It comes after a local newspaper published a scathing letter from one of the 12 jurors in the Brock Turner case who unanimously convicted the Stanford student on three counts of felony sexual assault.
When Persky handed down a six month sentence, the unnamed juror called it "ridiculously lenient", adding "it makes a mockery of the whole trial and the ability of the justice system to protect victims of assault and rape."
"Justice has not been served in this case," the juror continued, ending the letter with three words: "Shame on you."
Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson says jurors rarely speak out like this.
Even rarer is the amount of public backlash Persky has received -- forcing the District Attorney to act.
"There is a rational basis for the District Attorney to say that came out of the blue, and we cannot take another chance at a Brock Turner result," Prof Levenson said.
"We want him off these type of cases."
Perksy's problems are unlikely to end here, though. Last week, a women's rights advocacy group calling for Persky's removal delivered over a million online signatures to the state commission on judicial performance.
CBS News
