Justice Kennedy: Shorten Fed Prison Terms

associated press ^ | 8 10 03 | ANNE GEARAN

[freepatriot32]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said Saturday that prison terms are too long and that he favors scrapping the practice of setting mandatory minimum sentences for some federal crimes.

"Our resources are misspent, our punishments too severe, our sentences too long," Kennedy told the annual meeting of the American Bar Association, his remark met by long applause.

"I can accept neither the necessity nor the wisdom of federal mandatory minimum sentences," Kennedy said. "In all too many cases, mandatory minimum sentences are unjust."

Kennedy is a moderate conservative placed on the court by former President Ronald Reagan. His criticism puts him at odds with Attorney General John Ashcroft, who wants prosecutors to closely monitor which judges impose more lenient sentences than federal guidelines recommend. Such oversight, critics say, could limit judicial independence.

Kennedy said he agrees with the need for federal sentencing guidelines. The 15-year-old system gives judges a range of possible punishments for most crimes and eliminates some of the disparities in terms imposed by different judges for the same crime.

Still, the guidelines lead to longer prison terms than were common before, Kennedy said.

"We should revisit this compromise," he said. "The federal sentencing guidelines should be revised downward."

Prosecutors often ask for sentences at or near the top of the guideline range, and defense lawyers ask for terms at or even below the bottom. Judges have some freedom to "downwardly depart," from the guidelines and hand down a lesser punishment.

Ashcroft recently directed U.S. attorneys to promptly report to Justice Department headquarters any such departures that are not part of a plea agreement in exchange for cooperation.

"The Department of Justice has a solemn obligation to ensure that laws concerning criminal sentencing are faithfully, fairly and consistently enforced," Ashcroft wrote in a memo issued July 28.

Kennedy did not address Ashcroft's directive.

The justice asked the ABA to lobby Congress to repeal mandatory minimum sentence laws, even though they have withstood court scrutiny.

"The court on which I set and other courts have upheld long sentences, but please remember because a court has said something is permissible does not mean it is wise," Kennedy said.

Kennedy voted with the Supreme Court majority this year to uphold California's toughest-in-the-nation law mandating 25-year minimum prison terms for three-time felons.

Kennedy also urged the ABA to consider working to extend pardons for state and federal prisoners serving harsh terms.

"The pardon process, of late, seems to have been drained of its moral force. Pardons are infrequent," Kennedy said. "A people confident in its laws and institutions should not be ashamed of mercy."

Kennedy asked lawyers to think about the consequences of the current prison system, including what he called its "remarkable scale" of about 2.1 million people behind bars nationwide and the fact that about 40 percent of the prison population is black.

"It is no defense if our current system is more the product of neglect than of purpose," Kennedy said. "Out of sight, out of mind is not acceptable for any part of our justice system."

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On the Net:

American Bar Association: http://www.abanet.org

[Dane]

Yep that is what a demo Senate brings you. Kennedy's seat on SCOTUS should belong to Robert Bork, but Oldsmobile Ted saw to the end of that back in 87.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Another RINO judge goes liberal, because we elected some squishy RINO moderate president who appointed him instead of true conservative judges.

Oh wait...

[jimkress]

Yeah. Let them out sooner so they can kill more people, create more panic, and allow us to further impose our hegemony on America.

Unless, of course, they are 'sexual' criminals. To those. no prison sentence is sufficient and we must keep them in prison (or an associated 'treatment center') forever.

Ever notice how hypocritical the Left is?

[anniegetyourgun]

"Yep that is what a demo Senate brings you. Kennedy's seat on SCOTUS should belong to Robert Bork, but Oldsmobile Ted saw to the end of that back in 87."

It was so worth repeating.

[etcetera]

"... the guidelines lead to longer prison terms than were common before, Kennedy said."

The guidlines started exactly because of this. Judges were deemed too lenient, the public got fed up and demanded mandatory sentencing. So Kennedy wants to go back to that?

[BenLurkin]

Kennedy is just another elitist who resists and resents our republican form of self-governance.

[leprechaun9]

I wish we could shorten the term of (in)Justice Kennedy!

[duckln]

Kennedy's absolutely right. After a couple of hours, days,
weeks, months in a 'box' it's ineffective, cruel and unusual.

[seamas]

Quite so! Most all federal offenders are non-violent, but there are many first offenders serving 20 years or more, including life. It is wrong and ultimately counter-productive.

[Defiant]

"I can accept neither the necessity nor the wisdom of federal mandatory minimum sentences," Kennedy said. "In all too many cases, mandatory minimum sentences are unjust."

Why don't you run for office and offer up legislation, then, douche? Oh, yeh, because you pass your laws by issuing rulings, I forgot.

[onemoreday]

....
On another thread here concerning marajuana prohibition, we find the administration "resisting and resenting" our republican form of self government.

Are there 2 countries here, or are we simply looking at it in such a "piece-meal" fashion we are unable to see massive inconsistencies?

"Divided" is still "conquered"

[CyberAnt]

Yeah, let's just have a few more criminals running around on the street .. what a brilliant idea ..??

[Unknowing]

We are all paying for these tough sentences at the federal level, and of course Justice Kennedy does not mention state incarcerations. It seems that the budget deficits in more than one state are composed largely of the costs associated with their "Criminal Justice" system. And now the folks who have been running these systems are realizing that a net profit does not result, even with widespread forfeitures and expanded prison industries.

Zero tolerance for "crime" of all kinds assumes an infinite tolerance for the associated costs. The optimal juncture balances the costs as against the benefits, and anarchy as against socialism. We can't afford to put everyone that we don't like in a cell or on an ankle bracelet, even if doing so would be right.

[Tax Government]

For every person imprisoned, there is probably a family on welfare. The federal sentencing guidelines should be flexible; let non-violent people back so they can get on with their lives and support their families.

[G-Man 1]

Why don't we export our prisons to china. They could do it a lot cheeper and I don't think the RINO judge would have to worry about long sentences.Ask our Vietnan prisoners about that.

[lepton]

I think many prison sentences are too long. After a point they rather lose their further effect.

The problem with much of the sentencing, is that the prosecuted hear what they could get, then they hear the portion that they are sentenced to, then they find out they're only going to serve some portion of that. That type of presentation leaves one a bit relieved, rather than chastened.

The sentences should be sure, with ADDITIONAL for ill behaviour.

[Texas Federalist]

Before you assume that Kennedy was limiting his comments to non-violent offenses, read exactly what he said. He is against mandatory minimum sentences, period. The reason these sentencing provisions exist is because judges were imposing ridiculously lenient sentences for horrible crimes. In the six months I worked in the state prosecutors office in Boston while I was in law school two particular instances stand out. In one, I saw a man who stabbed someone three times outside a bar get one year probation. In another, a man who was driving under the influence of heroin and hit a lady head on temporary paralyzing her got six months probation.

[Born Conservative]

Outsourcing our criminal justice system-THAT'S BRILLIANT! We don't even need to send them as far away as China-Cuba is closer.