Jill Porter | Move afoot to unseat judge in rape ruling
WHEN a Philadelphia judge made a controversial ruling two weeks ago in the alleged rape of a prostitute, "I knew I was in trouble," she later told me.
WHEN a Philadelphia judge made a controversial ruling two weeks ago in the alleged rape of a prostitute, "I knew I was in trouble," she later told me.
Was she ever right.
Municipal Judge Teresa Carr Deni dropped all rape and sexual-assault charges against the key defendant at a preliminary hearing three weeks ago; instead she held 19-year-old Dominique Gindraw on armed-robbery charges for "theft of services."
That ruling, and inflammatory comments Deni made about the victim in a column I wrote, has prompted a grass-roots "Deny Deni" movement to unseat her from the bench and has ignited censure from all over the country.
Dozens of activists were to meet last night to plan an Election Day operation to lobby voters at the polls, urging them to defeat Deni's bid for another six-year term.
"It was so obviously a rape; it was horrifying that anyone would find it otherwise," said organizer Matilda O'Neill.
The incident also gained traction on the Internet.
"We've gotten e-mails from all over the country and Canada," said Philadelphia Bar Association Executive Director Ken Shear.
The uproar has prompted bar Chancellor Jane Dalton to get the transcript of the Oct. 4 hearing to determine whether Deni's ruling was based on "the rule of law or upon her own whim or opinion."
The bar's judicial selection commission already has voted to recommend Deni for retention, and there's not enough time for the commission to officially reconsider its vote. But Dalton said she could at least alert voters if she decides Deni acted improperly.
Meanwhile, Deni took her own action after the column appeared on Oct. 12.
She filed a formal complaint with the state disciplinary committee charging Assistant District Attorney Rich DeSipio, who handled the case, with ethics violations for initiating press coverage.
Which isn't even true. I contacted him after getting a tip.
"Even if I called - which I didn't - why would she object to the press knowing about her decision?" DeSipio said yesterday.
"My view is that she apparently thinks there's a kingdom in her courtroom where she makes her own law and therefore doesn't want the public and press to know her decisions."
Deni didn't return my call yesterday.
The sex worker, a 20-year-old single mother, negotiated sex with the defendant over the phone. When she arrived, she agreed to have sex with his friend for an additional charge.
Instead, the friend arrived and pulled a gun. Two other men also arrived, and the four forced her to have sex at gunpoint.
But Deni dropped the rape charges stemming from the Sept. 20 incident because she believed that the prostitute had "consented and she didn't get paid."
"I thought it was a robbery," she told me.
Deni also told me the case "minimizes true rape cases and demeans women who are really raped" - which seemed to confirm DeSipio's claim that her ruling was based on moral contempt rather than the law.
And it spurred irate activists to speak out, including the local chapter of the National Organization for Women, and Women Organized Against Rape.
"Judge Deni's premature dismissal of the case, if allowed to stand, will forever prevent relevant facts from being discovered and may well result in a criminal's remaining unpunished," NOW's president, Karen Bojar, wrote to the bar association.
WOAR asked Municipal Court President Judge Louis Presenza to take "appropriate action," such as "reassignment."
"Not only are Judge Deni's comments insulting and disrespectful to the victim, they reinforce negative stereotypes that make it difficult for a wide range of sexual-assault victims to report the crimes committed against them," wrote WOAR Executive Director Carole Johnson and Legal Services coordinator Kathryn Fidler.
DeSipio said he'll seek to have the charges reinstated at a hearing next month. He's also seeking a preliminary hearing on a second case against the defendant involving another prostitute that DeSipio refused to present to Deni after her ruling on the first case.
The three other alleged rapists have yet to be identified.
I think it's unlikely that Deni will be defeated at the polls.
But she knew she was asking for trouble by her insensitive and injudicious ruling. And she got it. *
E-mail porterj@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5850. For recent columns: