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Under Ashcroft, Justice Is Blind and Handcuffed


— August 11, 2003

The Los Angeles Times has this excellent opinion piece by Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington Law School. It points out, among other things, that Ashcroft’s system for having the US Attorneys’ offices rat out judges who give downward departures from the sentencing guidelines not only targets judges, but targets the US Attorneys themselves. Think you’d have much of a future in the Justice Department if it came to Ashcroft’s attention (and, under his system, it would) that you had not opposed a downward departure? Think again.

Turley also points out that, according to the ABA, prosecutors have appealed only 19 of more than 11,000 such sentence reductions. Talk about a solution in search of a problem . . . .

The only thing Ashcroft’s new system is guaranteed to accomplish is to universally increase unnecessary misery and suffering. But since only “bad” people will be forced to endure it, Ashcroft thinks its a good idea. I’d wager that Ashcroft’s next crusade will be to not only increase the use of the Federal death penalty, but to have Ashcroft himself carry it out by personally smiting the condemned with fire and brimstone. (Or perhaps he thinks he is capable of summoning Jesus to do it for him — it wouldn’t surprise me.)

Ashcroft needs to take his ultra-conservative fundamentalist Christian agenda out of the Justice Department, and leave it where ever he found it. It is not what the majority of Americans want. And even if it was, our Constitution clearly prohibits John Ashcroft from imposing it on those who don’t want it. As the officer with the highest authority regarding the Constitution in the executive branch, he ought to at least be aware of that. Apparently, he isn’t.

The man is a borderline lunatic and he’s seriously damaging our nation’s justice system, in both in actuality and appearances, as the Dayton Daily News (hardly a bastion of social liberalism) points out here.

UPDATE: TalkLeft has an excellent post about the ABA’s debate on whether the sentencing guidelines should be abolished entirely (which I think they should — or at least judges’ discretion under them should be radically increased).


The Los Angeles Times has this excellent opinion piece by Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington Law School. It points out, among other things, that Ashcroft’s system for having the US Attorneys’ offices rat out judges who give downward departures from the sentencing guidelines not only targets judges, but targets the US Attorneys themselves. Think you’d have much of a future in the Justice Department if it came to Ashcroft’s attention (and, under his system, it would) that you had not opposed a downward departure? Think again.

Turley also points out that, according to the ABA, prosecutors have appealed only 19 of more than 11,000 such sentence reductions. Talk about a solution in search of a problem . . . .

The only thing Ashcroft’s new system is guaranteed to accomplish is to universally increase unnecessary misery and suffering. But since only “bad” people will be forced to endure it, Ashcroft thinks its a good idea. I’d wager that Ashcroft’s next crusade will be to not only increase the use of the Federal death penalty, but to have Ashcroft himself carry it out by personally smiting the condemned with fire and brimstone. (Or perhaps he thinks he is capable of summoning Jesus to do it for him — it wouldn’t surprise me.)

Ashcroft needs to take his ultra-conservative fundamentalist Christian agenda out of the Justice Department, and leave it where ever he found it. It is not what the majority of Americans want. And even if it was, our Constitution clearly prohibits John Ashcroft from imposing it on those who don’t want it. As the officer with the highest authority regarding the Constitution in the executive branch, he ought to at least be aware of that. Apparently, he isn’t.

The man is a borderline lunatic and he’s seriously damaging our nation’s justice system, in both in actuality and appearances, as the Dayton Daily News (hardly a bastion of social liberalism) points out here.

UPDATE: TalkLeft has an excellent post about the ABA’s debate on whether the sentencing guidelines should be abolished entirely (which I think they should — or at least judges’ discretion under them should be radically increased).

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