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Cassie Jaye, the day before I met her at the _Red Pill_ world premiere

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Update on Rape-Enabling Judge

The following comes from Matilda O'Neill, organizer of the Deny Deni effort.

Deny Deni!
No means no! Vote NO on November 6th!

The time is drawing near to evict Judge Teresa Carr Deni from her post in Philadelphia Municipal Court for ruling that sex workers cannot be raped.

Action from people across the globe has already had very positive results. Requests that people write to the Philadelphia Bar Association rethink their recommendation to retain Deni in the upcoming November election prompted an unprecedented investigation and statement from the PBA.

Chancellor Jane Dalton stated that Deni's "…decision in this case was based on a pre-existing bias … and reflects, in my opinion, a clear disregard of the legal definition of rape and the rule of law in this case."

She further stated, "As Chancellor, a lawyer, and a human being, I am personally offended by this unforgivable miscarriage of justice. The victim has been brutalized twice in this case: first by the assailants, and now by the court ."

You can read the full text of the PBA's statement here:
http://www.philadelphiabar.org/page/NewsItem?appNum=1&newsItemID=1000699&wosid=ncbbbuuPx2oDfaovNtRTjg

It also got coverage in both of Philadelphia's major newspapers:
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20071031_Phila__Bar_slams_judge_in_rape_case.html/hp/news_update/20071031_Phila__Bar_slams_judge_in_rape_case.html
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20071031_Jill_Porter___Phila__Bar_rips_judge_who_nixed_rape_of_hooker.html/local/20071031_Jill_Porter___Phila__Bar_rips_judge_who_nixed_rape_of_hooker.html
It was thanks to the overwhelming response of outraged people around the world that this happened. Good work!

Now we need to get the vote out on November 6th!

Tell Deni that rape is rape and no means no! Vote NO on Judge Teresa Carr Deni's retention in the Philadelphia Municipal Court on November 6th!

If you want to help on Election Day, please get in contact: no.on.deni@gmail.com.
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If you want to help but cannot vote:
1) Get these bulletins out anywhere and everywhere you can! Help oust Deni from our judicial system.
2) You can write a polite letter to Judge Teresa Carr Deni's supervisor in municipal court and ask that she be transferred or removed. For more information on how to do this, contact no.on.deni@gmail.com.
3) Live near Philly? Come to town for Election Day on November 6th! We need all the help we can get!
4) It's also probably worth writing to the Philadelphia Bar Association and thanking them for their swift and thoughtful action on the matter. You can reach Chancellor Jane L. Dalton at Dalton@duannemorris.com and Executive Director Kenneth Shear at kshear@philabar.org.

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When is a rape not a rape? When the victim is a sex worker!

Did you know that in Philadelphia forcing a sex worker to have unprotected sex with multiple partners at gunpoint and without consent is not considered rape? That's right, Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni decided that based upon her occupation, the victim, a 20-year-old single mother, had consented to any and all brutality unleashed upon her. When asked whether she considered rape to be a traumatic event, Deni stated that this case "minimizes true rape cases and demeans women who are really raped."

In what reality is forcible unprotected sex by multiple people not rape? In what reality is it okay for a municipal court judge to free a violent rapist because of the judge's contempt for the victim's occupation? On November 6, 2007 help tell Judge Carr Deni that determining a case of rape is not dependant upon the victim's character, social standing, or occupation. Rape is rape and no means no. Vote NO on Deni's retention with the Municipal Court of Philadelphia.

Spread the word! No means no, vote NO on retaining Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni!

Interested in taking action against Judge Carr Deni? Contact Matilda at no.on.deni@gmail.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The part of this story you don’t know is that this was a manipulation of the press by political operatives, who purposely fabricated a twisted version of the facts right before an election, to smear Judge Deni’s reputation for political reasons that have nothing to do with the case they used to launch the campaign against her.

Once they got one paper to print their twisted version of the facts, the other papers piled on, repeating the false facts from the first story.

What you think happened is not what happened, and her political opponents knew they had her over a barrel, because the rules of judicial conduct prevent her from arguing the facts of a pending case in the press.

The operatives accomplished their goal, which was to create a public outrage to fan the flames of a public drum beat to remove Judge Deni from office.

Some people will not find it easy to accept that they were played.

Others who know how politics are played in Philly will acknowledge that what I am saying has a certain familiar ring of truth to it.

I have known Judge Deni for better than 30 years. I am telling you that what you read in the papers, and the firestorm that was created out of it, was a calculated political manipulation that had nothing to do with the truth.

stripey7 said...

See my response to the above under "Deny Deni flier available."