Hans Bader writes:
Admitting crime rates differ by race is racist, according to a California judge
By Hans Bader April 26, 2024
… The Orange County judge disqualified a San Diego judge from hearing cases under California’s Racial Justice Act, citing his statement that “There is absolutely no evidence that … the proportion of persons in an ethnicity committing a crime must be the same as the proportion of the population.” In her ruling, Judge Cheri Pham decided that “From his comments, a person aware of the facts could reasonably believe that Judge Shore believes certain racial or ethnic groups commit more crimes than others.” Never mind the fact that certain racial and ethnic groups do in fact commit more crimes than others.
… as described in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
In a ruling thought to be the first of its kind, an Orange County judge disqualified a San Diego judge from hearing multiple cases under California’s Racial Justice Act, finding that there are reasonable questions about whether recently censured San Diego Superior Court Judge Howard Shore can remain impartial given his prior “insensitive language and comments” in the courtroom.
“From his comments, a person aware of the facts could reasonably believe that Judge Shore believes certain racial or ethnic groups commit more crimes than others,” Orange County Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham wrote in part of one of her orders of disqualification, citing remarks Shore had made in previous hearings…
The Orange County judge noted that Shore had previously questioned whether systemic racism exists in the legal system. In another hearing, Pham wrote, he questioned statistics that show minorities are imprisoned at a disproportionate rate.
“There is absolutely no evidence that … the proportion of persons in an ethnicity committing a crime must be the same as the proportion of the population,” Shore said in one hearing, according to a transcript.
Citing the standard for disqualification, Pham said such comments could make a person reasonably believe “that Judge Shore believes certain racial or ethnic groups commit more crimes than others and that he will not give weight to statistical evidence that indicates there is an implicit bias against certain racial or ethnic groups.”
As I’ve often said, what goes unsaid tends to become inconceivable.
