Story highlights Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Brock Turner to six months in jail, sex offender registration

Panel reviewed thousands of complaints against Persky over sentence

Judicial commission closes investigation without discipline

(CNN) The California judge in the Brock Turner sexual assault trial did not abuse his authority or show bias when he sentenced the former Stanford University student to six months in jail, an independent commission concluded.

Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky's sentence, handed down on June 2, was widely criticized as too lenient, drawing significant public outcry and media coverage. It led to a new sentencing law , a hard alcohol ban at Stanford and an effort to remove Persky from the bench through a recall election.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky in 2011.

The Commission on Judicial Performance, an independent state agency, reviewed thousands of complaints to determine if Persky's actions amounted to judicial misconduct. The investigation could have led to sanctions or dismissal but it had no bearing on the sentence.

"The commission has concluded that there is not clear and convincing evidence of bias, abuse of authority, or other basis to conclude that Judge Persky engaged in judicial misconduct warranting discipline," the commission said.

"Accordingly, the participating commission members voted unanimously to close, without discipline, its preliminary investigation of the complaints against the judge regarding his sentencing decision in the Turner case."

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