Judge accuses Congress, Justice of pressure to avoid lenient sentences
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- A federal judge has accused Congress and the Justice Department of bullying judges into thinking twice about handing down lenient sentences.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson made the claim in a statement explaining his reasons for not granting a "downward departure" from federal sentencing guidelines in a criminal case he handled.
"Congress and the Attorney General have instituted policies designed to intimidate and threaten judges into refusing to depart downward, and those policies are working," Magnuson wrote.
Magnuson cited steps taken by Congress and the Justice Department in recent months that make it harder for judges to deviate from federal guidelines, which were developed to ensure uniformity in sentencing, but allow judges some flexibility.
When judges depart downward, federal prosecutors now have to report the decision to the attorney general, who reports that to Congress, which in turn can attempt to require a judge to justify the move.
"This reporting system accomplishes its goal: the Court is intimidated, and the Court is scared to depart," Magnuson wrote in a statement filed Monday.
Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo disputed Magnuson's claims, saying federal prosecutors seek to enforce the law "fairly, uniformly and appropriately" across the country.
Four of Magnuson's fellow federal judges in Minnesota said they don't personally feel intimidated. But one of them, Judge Donovan Frank, said he was concerned about the impact of the Justice Department's reporting requirements.
"Do I share Judge Magnuson's concerns about where all this is going to go, where it relates to the independence of the judiciary? Yes," Frank said. "But have I changed how I do my sentencing? No, I have not."
Magnuson made his comments in the case of a former grain elevator manager whom he sentenced to nearly four years in prison for conspiring to defraud federal crop insurance and crop disaster programs.
In May, Minnesota's chief federal judge, James Rosenbaum, was called to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, which threatened to subpoena his records in all cases in which he departed from the guidelines.
The legal community rallied to Rosenbaum's defense, saying the independence of judges was under attack. Rosenbaum declined to comment on Magnuson's statement.
A federal judge in New York on Monday expressed concerns similar to Magnuson's. Robert P. Patterson criticized Congress for tightening sentencing restrictions as he sentenced a man who fired shots outside the United Nations to more than two years in prison.
Patterson, who departed downward from the sentence specified in a plea bargain, said there was a danger "our system of justice will be considered subservient to our other branches of government." Top