CU kind of has an ongoing problem with sexual assault (2014 and 2015)--like many campuses, obviously. I didn't experience this personally, but it happened to folks I know, and I know, from friends working in appropriate divisions/offices, that the statistics were troubling and the response underwhelming. Now, I don't think the admins at CU-Boulder are bad people who are intentionally looking the other way; I think there are a combination of forces at play, including too-many-irons-in-the-fire and uncertainty about how to address what is admittedly a very complex issue.
So how do we fix it? All together now.
Legal system (courts)
One very useful article I found explains the sentencing process and its related guidelines in Minnesota. Since I don't have a legal scholarship background, I thought this was really interesting and enlightening. I wish we could have such an interview done with a Colorado judge, but the news reporter I suggested this to told me that sitting Colorado judges were (unsurprisingly) unwilling to do so, and pointed me instead to this article in re: indeterminate sentencing.
What can we-the-people really do about this? It's a confusing question, especially, again, if you're a person who (like me) doesn't have a background in law. It's not that the sentencing was illegal, per se; I think that would be quickly recognized and rectified, if it were. I think it's more a question of recognizing implicit biases (his future was "brighter" than hers, thus more valuable), plus the confusions surrounding indeterminate sentencing and, as far as I can tell, the absence of a minimum mandatory sentence.
I never figured out if there was really any point to contacting Judge Butler, who apparently did the sentencing. It's confusing to me, because I know that judges aren't elected officials with a constituency in the same way that legislators are. I also know that there are nuances to the law (including this whole foolishness about indeterminate sentencing) that are foreign to me. And I want to believe that our judges and legal system are generally well-intentioned, and I do believe that this judge was: after all, in many cases I am in favor of rehabilitation and opposed to excessive incarceration (like that often visited upon communities of color for minor offences), and that is what this judge has specifically referenced as a factor in his decision. (I know it may be naive of me to implicitly trust the legal system and its actors, but I don't think there's much progress to be made by demonizing and calling individual actors bad names.)
So I am still not sure if there's any point to contacting the judge: all I would want to say is "listen, I know this was complicated and the entire situation is bigger than your sentencing on this one case, but I think the sentence was a mistake because of how it minimizes the crime of sexual assault and rape." And I'm hardly the first person to say that, and the judge doesn't need my vote to get re-elected, since that's not how judgeships work. I may still contact him directly, because I do think it's important that folks know that citizens are watching and care about this issue beyond the week when it actually is in the press. I also feel like it's a shame for the person assaulted to not have our support, in light of this outcome.
And folks may think, "Hey, why not have this judge recalled, if his rulings are not consistent with the values of the community?" Because in Colorado, judges are not recall-able. The judge in question won't need a re-confirmation vote (in the general election) until 2020, and frankly, I'm not sure that would be the most productive route, either. It doesn't seem that he was acting in bad faith; it seems like the sentencing laws don't provide the appropriate guidance (e.g., lack of mandatory minimum) and that the laws do exist deter reasonable sentencing because of the 'squishiness' in the language (e.g., indeterminate sentencing potentially leading a 2-6 year sentence with treatment to become a life sentence). Please don't take that as apologism for the judge or sentence: I still think the judge erred in his decision, but I think it would not be unlikely that, if this judge were replaced, that a new judge would reach a similar conclusion in a similar case. And to avoid that--which is the ultimate goal--it seems like we citizens need to get the legislators involved.
Contacting my legislators
Noticing a theme here? Seems like I contact my legislators at the drop of a hat. But anyway, the reason this seems like a potentially-useful avenue is because it sounds like the judge in question may have been hesitant to impose the "normal" 2-6 year sentence because of the possibility that, due to the wording of the indeterminate sentencing portion of statute, it could become a life sentence depending on various factors, some outside the offender's control. Or at least that's the claim, and it could well be true. So one obvious win would be revising this portion of statute so that judges did not feel reservations surrounding sentencing due to the possibility of indeterminate sentencing exceeding the maximum sentence they believe would be appropriate.
Second, legislators should also be lobbied to institute mandatory minimum sentences for sexual assault and rape cases, as California just did. If the indeterminate sentencing issue is a real issue and not a red herring--and again, I'd accept the professionals' statements that it is a legitimate issue--then the two revisions will need to be done in concert. But that should not be impossible; it's a needed revision to protect the rights of the victim (or survivor, as some prefer) and the perpetrator.
Third, if folks do feel strongly about the need for judicial recall, that would also be something to be added or amended in statute. For me, I think the two changes above would be a more-important step forward; judicial recall could be considered in future legislative sessions, if needed. But others may feel more strongly that it needs to be on the books now, and there are arguments for that, I suppose, of the nature of "why not pass it now, because even if not this judge, some judge may need to be recalled at some point, and might as well have the ability to do so when it happens."
Contacting and supporting departments on campus
Here's another useful model coming out of Minnesota: Minnesota Coalition against Sexual Violence hosting a summit on campus sexual harassment prevention*. I wish the article said more about what the summit actually included (panels? lectures? activities?), but I can imagine a lot of things that would be helpful. And I know Boulder does already do an orientation seminar on consent and alcohol, so that's good, but it's obviously not good enough, based on the statistics we're still seeing.
Frankly, it's a little confusing to figure out who on campus to even contact. It appears that multiple offices are involved in prevention, response, and aftermath of sexual assault and rape.
- The campus police's "Safety Website" [sic] includes some info on prevention and "what to do if..."
- The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance appears to offer many of the prevention trainings, although they also do investigations and reporting, it appears
- The Office of Victim Assistance seems to offer advocacy and support, after an assault has occurred
- The Women's Resource center has a nice list of who to contact for help with a variety of issues, including sexual assault and rape
- The Office of Student Affairs also offers services for reporting sexual assault
Again, I'm not really sure how much folks from outside CU can really help here. Presumably we can contact the Board of Regents, who are elected officials, and ask them to support the development of programming and the allocation of additional resources to these departments and programs that work to reduce sexual assault and rape. Because the case went to trial, it seems like CU must have done a decent job, at least in referring it to law enforcement. But in the victim's/survivor's open letter, she repeatedly alleges that CU officials did not do enough to help her feel safe, so it would be nice to have a statement from CU about the actions they took, their duration, and how that reflected their policy.
In closing, it's discouraging that a town and campus like Boulder could have this sort of thing happen. Well, it's awful to have this sort of thing happen anywhere, but given that Boulder likes to think of itself as forward-thinking and liberal, it is doubly surprising. As a female CU-Boulder alumna, I want to figure out how to help, and the most productive approach seems to be talking with my elected representatives, particularly in the state legislature but possibly also the CU Board of Regents. So for anyone out there who read about this case and also was (and is) still wondering what they can do to advocate for change so that this travesty is never repeated....well, this is what I came up with.
*There is a Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault; They apparently do have an annual "campus meeting" geared toward campus professionals, to permit them to "convene, network, and enhance their skills through trainings on current topics and trends." Training the trainer is good, but it is a little different, I think, than the Minnesota summit I reference.
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