US judge prompts outrage after saying: ‘If she didn’t want sex, her body should have just shut down’

[The Straight Story]

US judge prompts outrage after saying: ‘If she didn’t want sex, her body should have just shut down’ in rape case, and reducing sentence of attacker by ten years


A US judge has prompted outrage after saying that a rape victim didn't put up a fight during her assault and that if someone doesn't want sex, the body 'will not permit that to happen.'

Judge Derek Johnson's comments, which echo those of outgoing U.S. representative Todd Akin, who used the phrase 'legitimate rape' and said women who are the victims of rape rarely get pregnant, have drawn widespread condemnation.

The states Commission on Judicial Performance has also attacked the the judge for taking ten years off the recommended sentence for the rapist in the case, imposing a six-year sentence instead.

...

According to police reports Judge Johnson said: 'I’m not a gynecologist, 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 in inflicted, and we heard nothing about that in this case.

'That tells me that the victim in this case, although she wasn’t necessarily willing, she didn’t put up a fight.'

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-judge-prompts-outrage-after-saying-if-she-didnt-want-sex-her-body-should-have-just-shut-down-in-rape-case-and-reducing-sentence-of-attacker-by-ten-years-8414674.html

[RockaFowler]

1. Just disgusting

How is this guy even a judge??
"I'm not a gynecologist" - WTF???????

[Katashi_itto]

15. I didn't realize women had an "on", "off" switch. Amazing, what insights Conservatives have

very cutting edge, 11th century cutting edge, but what the hey.

[tanyev]

21. Oh, but ideal Republican wives do.

Maybe that's why GOP men are so confused.

[ellenfl]

69. i think you've hit the nail on the head. eom

[BlueToTheBone]

49. It goes along with having a magical body.

We don't get pregnant from rape!

[Katashi_itto]

52. As a flamboyant hetrosexual, I always thought women had magical bodies :)

Just didnt realize how magical obivously

[BlueToTheBone]

60. Can you imagine having to live it?

So magical we can ward off sperm in its "bad" form, but accept it in its "good" form? Too bad we get no respect and are considered less than in all other ways!

[Katashi_itto]

63. Yeah, sort of spooky reminds me of the Movie "Red State"

I really wonder how long it takes before that sort of thinking gets us into real trouble.

[BlueToTheBone]

66. well that just scared hell out of me!

I don't think I could watch the movie!

[Katashi_itto]

68. It's very intense. Kevin Smith directed it.

It's very on target concerning the Right.

[BlueToTheBone]

70. That's what scares me!

I live in a rural area of a red state and there are paramilitary camps all over the place. It's a weird juxtaposition with the art community I live in in the middle of all that red hate. We will probably be their target, cause they hate gays and hippies.

[Katashi_itto]

71. Damn, you have my sympathy. I just moved to New Orleans, great city, its the rest of the state that

makes me wary.

[BlueToTheBone]

72. You have my sympathy!

We live in a little town called Eureka Springs. The locals destroyed the springs years ago as they are all contaminated with e.coli. But the countryside is beautiful and spring is on the way!

[bvar22]

78. Would that be Eureka Springs, Arkansas?

If so, then you are my neighbor.
We moved from Minneapolis to the Ouachita Mountains (west of Mena) in 2006,
to grow our own food, and live as sustainably and independently as possible.
So far, so good.
Winter is sorta drab, but Spring is here,
and we are excited about the new growing season.
One of the reasons we picked this area is for the natural springs.
We drink straight from ours, and the water is cold, clear, delicious, and abundant.

Ignorance, poverty, and fundamentalism are a problem here,
but not as bad as we were prepared for. Things are changing as more people are gradually moving into this area everyday looking for the same things we came her for.
We have good respectful relations with most of the people in our area.

The area around Eureka Springs is especially beautiful,
but we chose further south for the longer growing season.

Its always good to find a neighbor.

[BlueToTheBone]

87. we looked in Mena, but it seemed too bleak

Last edited Mon Mar 25, 2013, 06:14 PM - Edit history (1)

and my beloved is an artist and I don't think he would have made it! But it's great to know you're my neighbor! If you should come to ES, do let me know and we can meet in person!

Good luck with your garden this year!


grammer nazi in me demanded a correction

[MountainLaurel]

88. Welcome to New Orleans!

We have the same feelings: We're New Orleanians, but we are not Louisianans.

[derby378]

55. I think the Off switch is called "Death"

And after triggering it, good luck ever getting that On switch to ever work again.

[Katashi_itto]

57. Very good point

[union_maid]

2. Well, he should not be a judge

Shoud be defrocked, debenched and if possible, disbarred. He does not belong on the bench.

[Dustlawyer]

16. Absolutely! This guy must be a dinosaur! No telling how much injustice he has dispensed on the

bench!

[City Lights]

42. Exactly!

[Eleanors38]

65. "Doesn't belong on the bench." Doesn't belong on the ranch. nt

[smirkymonkey]

96. +10.000

Agreed. What a fucking idiot!

[newfie11]

3. anyone saying this has a hatred for women

Are we going backwards in time? They know this is a lie but spout it anyway. Shit this is something from the middle ages!

[caseymoz]

9. I'm not so sure...

My dad would say the same thing and he definitely didn't feel hate about it (or maybe didn't know the difference). He wasn't a hick either. He finished high school, was in the army enlisted in military intelligence, had some college and was corporate executive with a six-figure income.

No, he thought it was a fact, never checked it; never had a moral authority in the Catholic Church tell him it was wrong; distrusted medical authorities as corrupt and uninterested; and saw progressive and women's groups as, if not immoral, then untrustworthy on the subject.

Notice how distrust and suspicion play out there? Church teachings with Satan a deceiver behind the fight for good and evil doesn't help with that. So he's gone on believing this his entire life, and likely still does. I think his POV was actually typical in the Catholic Community. And my brothers are the same way and they both have college degrees.

The difference might be that this guy's a judge, but if the same walls of suspicion are up, and if there's the same dereliction in the authorities he does trust, you'll hear things like this. They think it's totally ordinary and look at you uncomprehending when you say they have any hatred toward women.

You might call this hatred. Fact is, if you actually do feel hatred all the time, always have, and that's all you know, how do you know it's hatred? Compare that to what you feel when somebody kills your children. There, you know your new emotion is hatred because you didn't feel it before. For something like this, though, it's been a constant in their emotional environment. It's why slavery wasn't considered wrong until the 19th century. Good people learned early to live with it and never noticed.

What I thought when I heard Todd Aikin was "Hi Dad." My father's probably even mystified as to why the Aikin didn't win.

I understand the feeling of being pulled back in time. I really thought this would be settled decades ago. How do you communicate the wrongness of this to people who are conditioned to be numb to it, and distrust your objection?

[mac56]

17. ^ this ^

Very wise and insightful.

[MotherPetrie]

23. What an incredible job of rationalizing misogyny and prejudice

[atreides1]

30. Thank you

+1,000,000

[newfie11]

38. Boy you nailed it!!!!!!!

[caseymoz]

50. If yelling names and labels at them gets ONE on your side

and I mean makes them commit themselves to your cause, in your lifetime, then contact me, because I will worship you as a demigoddess.

You understand what's going in their heads so you can hack their thoughts and perhaps, somebody can form a strategy. This is far different than being an apologist for them.

But I guess having a hate-in for them is just so much less confusing. It's also better for rallying the troops, that's great if you're in an all out, total shooting war. That is, as long as you're on the winning side. But we're not in an all-out shooting war yet. And if we were, there's no certain victory here.

Isn't clear I rejected my father, brothers and my church of birth? I've paid a price because I'm not a misogynist and not an apologist for it. You and your cohorts who concur can go to Hell.

[MotherPetrie]

56. You are the one presuming to know what's in their heads. I go by their actions.

[ellenfl]

74. so your dad thinks that women who got pregnant from rape wanted the rape?

i hope you and your siblings' wives are teaching their boys better than this. this is dreadful ignorance.

[shenmue]

4. I can't believe it

So horrible.

[DFW]

5. This man is a judge, but knows nothing of justice

He is not a gynecologist? He is not much of a man, either.

Maybe his wife, if he has one, shuts down on him frequently, but that isn't surprising. He must be one disgusting character to lie in bed with anyway.

[BlueJazz]

6. 'I’m not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something", I play one while sitting in judgment.

[Divernan]

7. This happened in 2008; judge not censured until 2012 & remains on bench!

"The commission noted (PDF) that Gurel, a Turkish citizen, stalked his girlfriend with a GPS device, made a bomb threat against her, faxed a nude photo of her to her workplace, vandalized her vehicle, then threatened to burn her with a heated screwdriver or just set her on fire before repeatedly forcing her to give him fellatio."
"Despite the public admonishment, Judge Johnson remains on the bench."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/14/california-judge-admonished-for-saying-victims-body-should-have-shut-down-rape/
Quoting this obscene excuse for a judge:
He added: “That tells me that the victim in this case, although she wasn’t necessarily willing, she didn’t put up a fight. And to treat this case like the rape cases that we all hear about is an insult to victims of rape. I think it’s an insult. I think it trivializes a rape. I found this whole case to be a technical case. The rape is technical. The forced oral copulation is technical. It’s more of a crim law test than a real live criminal case.”

[caseymoz]

13. Hey, Pope Pius XII said

if a woman doesn't fight to the death against rape, she was going to Hell. He canonized a girl who was murdered by her rapist as an example of the proper thing to do, because chastity was that important to morality.

He was "infallible" and still has a great influence in the church.

When "infallible" moral authorities say that, what can you expect?

Though how a judge can make a distinction between a "technical violation" and a real crime, I don't know. I'm hoping, at least, that since the legal system is defining rape in terms of penetration, that there's no way to argue what's merely technical anymore.

However, his claim of having too much compassion for "real" rape victims to consider this guy culpable is the apex of moral conceit, and deceit.

[kdmorris]

8. He should be impeached

So sick of these idiots saying things like that...the body shuts down... sure, yeah, because women's bodies are made of some magic rape repellent material??????

W...T...F??

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Outrage noted and deserved, but...

is anyone asking how people in positions of grave responsibility and leadership get these weird ideas?

[caseymoz]

14. See post #9, and. . .

They hear it from someone they respect when they're say, nine years old, and never check the fact with anyone who would actually know. By the time they're old enough to question, they've already been guided to trust other ignorant people as authorities on the matter and distrust educated people.

[TreasonousBastard]

35. Not sure how I missed that before I posted, but...

yes, attitudes and beliefs are instilled at an early age and become hard to change as one gets older.

And, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any great call for such change.

[newfie11]

41. Education, not influenced by religion nt

[Demo_Chris]

47. Educated where?

I am about as ignorant of female mechanics as one can be, but even I know this is Judge's ideas are 1st century nonsense.

[newfie11]

77. Narrow minded folk that refuse to listen to science

You know the ones that have man and dinosaurs living together.

There are people that refuse to believe science and listen to like minded idiots.

So yes education does enlighten one but only if you are willing to absorb it.

Check out the crap spewed on Fox News and the gullible folks that believe everything.

[noiretextatique]

92. this is basic biology

it shouldn't have any thing to do with "beliefs." clearly this judge doesn't how women's bodies work, and if anyone thinks that's acceptable, they are dumb as he is.

[atreides1]

43. The it shows their ignorance.

We are all subjected to what others tell us as we grow older. But at some point in time it becomes our personal responsibility to find out for ourselves how things really work.

It shows a lack of wanting to be responsible when you continue to follow what someone else tells you...if the church tells you that a woman who doesn't die fighting her rapist is going to hell, and you believe it, then it speaks volumes about your lack of humanity and your subconscious hatred for women!

Many people in my life have always told me you are never too old to learn...but you have to be willing to learn. People like Akin and this judge and possibly your own father were never willing to step out of their "safe" zones...and that's where they have failed!

[caseymoz]

67. You're right, with a few nuances.

First, they probably don't remember where they originally got the idea. If that's the case, how do they know they've been following somebody else's wishes? Maybe they just think that they're willfully concurring with their church's teachings, for instance, and didn't look at the implications then. By the time they reach full adulthood, it looks normal.

But then there's the people who take the ideas and make them their own. Pope Pius. A Pope who leads other people has taken time analyzing it.

If he thinks on the subject, and doesn't find the mistake, if he's actually coming up with new reasons and arguments to be contemptuous toward women, who, say, didn't want to die resisting rape, that can only be described as hellbent. Because he's adding his own fantasies to it. That requires some kind of emotional impetus.

He deserves contempt and no sympathy about it. Off topic, but he also aided the rise of Nazism and awarded fascists like Franco and Salazar medals. Not a good person.

This judge, if what happened to Aikin did not make him re-exam thinking, he deserves to be disbarred. I mean, he's a judge. His work is intellectual. He shouldn't be in place of authority.

Unfortunately, almost any follower can become a leader sometime.

[treestar]

46. Why he didn't lose his job over this is suspect

People get fired for posting stupid shit on Facebook. Yet a federal judge can say something like this in the 21st century - and he can easily be replaced.

[mwb970]

11. Not this again.

What is WRONG with these people?

[Kennah]

97. The short list is what is right with them. I can start the list with these.

[Divernan]

12. Decision of Judicial Performance Commission, including courtroom transcript.

http://cjp.ca.gov/res/docs/public_admon/Johnson_DO_Pub_Adm_12-13-2012.pdf
California Commission on Judicial Performance, Public Admonishment of Derek G. Johnson: December 13, 2012 pages 3-5.
Read the transcript of the Commission, which includes findings of fact in trial as to the rapist's insane, ongoing threats and behaviors to the victim; and the judge's rant to the prosecuting attorney, and you can only conclude that this judge (who is now only halfway through his 8 year term of office) is beneath contempt and a disgrace to judges everywhere.

The remaining question is whether deep red Orange County (I used to live in Anaheim, and know whereof I speak) will re-elect this monster.

[davidthegnome]

18. Woah

The stupid is strong in this one...

[Myrina]

19. How does anyone in this day & age actually say something that stupid?

Especially someone who's apparently been through about 20 years of schoolin' ?

[polly7]

26. I thought this had to be some weird joke.

I feel awful for the women in his circle, can't imagine putting up with such a backward, stupid person in real life.

Each and every sexual assault case he's presided over should be reviewed. I wonder how many women haven't gotten justice and are living even more tortured lives because of him.

[winterpark]

27. I'd say: prob because the people who elected him think the same way. n/t

[RKP5637]

33. There are a fair number of highly educated people that are as

stupid as a bag of rocks. And, he well might hate women and/or think rape is a lot of fun. One never knows without a mental evaluation what is going on in these peoples minds. Another example are sociopaths that function as CEOs.

[Bluenorthwest]

20. Petition to remove Judge Johnson from the bench:

http://www.change.org/petitions/california-commission-on-judicial-performance-remove-derek-g-johnson-from-the-bench

[The Straight Story]

24. Nice, thank you for finding that link (nt)

[RKP5637]

29. Done. Thanks! n/t

[bemildred]

61. Done. nt

[Sissyk]

89. Awesome, Bluenorthwest!

THAT is a great first step to getting this uneducated, bigoted judge out of office!

Keep on pushing!

[BklnDem75]

22. He worked for the Orange County district attorney's sex crimes unit...

I wonder how many rape cases went unreported. How did this idiot rise through the system with his stance?

'I wanted to give Judge Derek Johnson the benefit of the doubt—after all, his primary concern is not trivializing rape! But he appears to believe vaginas have some sort of snapping mechanism and the only way that a rapist can really rape you is by breaking the hinges. Which still doesn't explain why he thinks having someone tell you to open your snapper or else he'll break your vulval hinges doesn't count as rape. If someone points a gun at a store clerk and tells them to open the cash drawer or else, it's still a robbery even though the register does, in fact, have a sealing mechanism designed to keep intruders out.'

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/12/14/judge_derek_johnson_admonished_claimed_rape_victim_didn_t_put_up_a_fight.html

[RKP5637]

25. WTF is wrong with these damn fools. We need a system that kicks out these damn

fools at all levels of power in this country. Just because someone rises in a profession has absolutely no bearing on their continued competency.

[MynameisBlarney]

28. That judge does not belong on the bench

I wonder, if it's possible to sue a judge that hands down a fucking ridiculous and highly insulting verdict like that...

[marew]

31. Is the judge a member of the Taliban?

Don't they execute women who have been raped?

What if it had been his wife or daughter?

This is absolutely infuriating. He should be recalled immediately!

[mr.ed]

32. Headache

Well, now she really has a headache, the often used marital "no." I'd like to ask how much bigger and more powerful he was than she, and if the difference was so huge,why she gave up trying to struggle.. In any case, the judge should try getting some of that rape stuff himself, just to see what a big, strong guy can do to somebody smaller.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

34. Was the judge removed from the bench? No. Just admonished.

"Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson made vulgar comments during the case of a now convicted rapist in 2008. Metin Gurel was convicted to six years in jail for rape, forcible oral copulation, domestic battery, stalking, and making threats against his former girlfriend. The suspect was also suspected of threatening to mutilate the face and genitals of his ex-girlfriend with a heated screwdriver and beat her with a metal baton."

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=8920887

Somehow it doesn't seem that this ordeal is going to be over for the victim.

Her attacker, a felon with a propensity towards violence, will eventually be released.

When that happens, what you would recommend? Go back to court and get a restraining order? Hide, without any self-defense weapon, for as long as possible? Call the police and wait for them to show up? Put Dianne Feinstein's telephone number on speed-dial?

[erpowers]

36. Should Be Impeached

This judge should be impeached from the bench. There is no reason that guy's sentence should have been reduced. Not only did he rape his ex-girlfriend, but he threatened to mutilate her face and her genitals. Just due to the fact that he threatened bodily harm to his ex-girlfriend he should have had his original sentence maintained.

In addition, the judge acknowledged that the woman was unwilling to participate. If she was unwilling to participate it was rape.

Furthermore, if her body had shut down how would she have been able to put up a fight. It seems to me that even if a woman's body was able to shut down because she/it did not want to get raped that would make it easier to rape a woman.

[crim son]

37. When the rape is inevitable,

women are advised not to fight, to minimize the damage Judge Johnson was talking about. I wonder if he believes a man can be raped? Wouldn't the whole "shutting down" process make that impossible?

Sickening.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

39. Here's the transcript

which shows even more of the judge's disgusting thinking:

http://cjp.ca.gov/res/docs/public_admon/Johnson_DO_Pub_Adm_12-13-2012.pdf

[The Straight Story]

44. From the PDF - he found the whole rape to be 'technical'

Pretty disgusting SOB.

[Recursion]

40. I think my head just exploded

[theKed]

45. It's really disappointing that people

with such a lack of understanding and intellect come to be in positions of power.

[4Q2u2]

48. 2 Jobs he is not Qualified For

Well he admitted in open court that he is not a gynecologist, and his actions show that he is not a judge. After we pull out of Afghanistan I am sure the Taliban will need Judges as they take the country back over, he would a great fit for them.

I always did like California's Judicial review vote. I am not a big fan of Judge for life strait out of the gate. We the people should see that these people are acting properly on the bench before a lifetime pass on Checks and Balances.

[socialindependocrat]

51. HE may have personal experience - with his wife....

So after all the brew-ha-ha with Aiken and all the publicity
the judge still is trying to perpetuate a myth about rape
and women's bodies.

In other situations where it is clear that someone is lacking in information they
are required to take a class in order to update their information base. He should
be required to take a course and if he fails he should take it again!

Why is it always the old white guys who are so out of touch?

May be a good reason to put an age limit on the SCOTUS

[Ilsa]

53. If you fight your rapist, you might die. If you

don't fight your rapist, you'll never get justice.
Tough choices, huh?
And then there is a point in the rape when a woman's body betrays her. Not due to enjoyment, but because her body knows to protect itself. It's horrible.

This bastard needs to lose his job. And I can't help but wish for more kharma on him.

[gtar100]

54. Another idiot who decided to be a judge. We have far too many of them.

I wish there were more liberal-minded judges but apparently choosing to be not so judgmental of others also means being less likely to wanting to be a judge.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

58. can judges be recalled?

can they be removed or do we have to vote them out?

[spanone]

59. 'I’m not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something'...shut the fuck up dude

[Beacool]

62. Could someone please remind me what century we are living in???

"Judge Derek Johnson's comments, which echo those of outgoing U.S. representative Todd Akin, who used the phrase 'legitimate rape' and said women who are the victims of rape rarely get pregnant, have drawn widespread condemnation."

Where do these people get their information?? If nothing else, don't they have women at home who can explain to them how the female body works? If someone raped their wives or daughters, would they tell them that they should have "just shut down their bodies"?

Unbelievable.........

[Coyotl]

64. OMFG, how can such a person become a judge? Better question, How can he remain one?

Time for a forced retirement without pension for being so fucking evil.

[LeftishBrit]

73. How infinitely repulsive. Impeach him!

[Stuart G]

75. "U.S. Judge"...somewhat misleading.....here is why?

Because our system of justice is multi-tierred...state, local federal..the headline, leads someone to believe that it was a "U.S." or federal judge..but it was a Orange County California judge.......not a federal judge..Well..why did that news source say that???

Because it was a UK news source., NOT A source in the Unted States....the Independent is a UK source...


at the bottom of the story...way down it says this:

"The judge, who has been with Orange County Superior Court since 2000 also said the rape was 'technical' and not 'a real, live criminal case.'".....


Probably elected in a local election. Few if any know about who is running in judge elections..(and that includes me)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

76. this is what we mean by rape culture. not donglegate but this. nt

[GaYellowDawg]

84. I don't know what else you'd call it. This should ENRAGE everyone.

n/t

[Blue_Tires]

79. Was there some new development?

Because we did discuss this story when it was fresh:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014335810

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021975706

[The Straight Story]

80. Yes - he is still working (nt)

[Rex]

81. SHE DID NOT HAVE SEX YOU DUMB FUCKWIT.

SHE WAS RAPED! Please God, someone beam me up! I've HAD IT with this planet!!!

[Whisp]

82. that's infuriating.

but you hear that all the time, and not only from braindead teabaggers.

[Rex]

83. It is starting to drive me crazy!

I want to so believe that it is due to ignorance, but you and I both know it is not.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

85. take a break from du and the news. no really. it will be good for you

i do it from time to time. dont let it burn you out

[Rex]

91. Thanks. I do that from time to time.

Can't let my blood pressure get the best of me. I am just tired of the stupid and it is not just DU. How can a person that holds a supposed 'high office' believe sex and rape are the same thing? I just don't get it. And I really don't believe it either.

Thanks - - - I needed that hug.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

93. it's def not just du. which is why when you need a break, you need a overall news break

gotta take care of yourself from time to time, it's an important part of activism

[Zorra]

86. *spit* nt

[sibelian]

90. What does he even MEAN?

I simply cannot imagine what he thinks he's talking about. What does he think women are?

Even if there WAS some weird, alien fucked up "rape recognition software" wired into her nervous systm that switched her off if she didn't want sex and it DIDN'T switch off in this case, it doesn't matter, rape has nothing to do with whether or not a women wants sex at the time or not, if she doesn't consent she doesn't consent, that's IT. What the fuck... "she was gagging for it so it's not rape..." - WHAT?

What IS all this bullshit?

[nomorenomore08]

94. This guy isn't fit to be a law professor, let alone a Superior Court judge.

And yes, I did sign the petition.

[Blue Owl]

95. Judge Jackwagon

n/t

[Apophis]

98. What. The. Fuck.

What the hell is wrong with that judge???