The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
Monday, May 22, 2017
You be the judge -- Anthony Weiner
You be the judge -- former Congressman and Huma's husband Anthony Weiner pleaded guilty to a count of transferring obscene material to a minor. It carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. His guidelines are 135 months at the low end. The government has agreed to recommend a sentence of 21-27 months in this plea agreement. What will the judge do? What would you do?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
18 months and sex offender probation with 5 years sup rel, based on pre-indictment rehabilitation with his attending the sex rehab last year
Guy's life and reputation are wrecked and he never touched anyone (as far as we know). There's a limit to punishing people for indulging in on-line fantasies, understanding that he did it with under-aged girls.
Maybe 22 months. Not more. There's no prior conduct indicating that he ever met any underaged girl and the stats are that well above 95% of people who indulge this behavior on-line don't take it further, regardless of what they indicate in their on-line messaging.
135 months. Why should he have the privilege of less?
So when a white person's life and reputation gets wrecked he should get a lesser sentence? That's interesting.
I agree with Rumpole, and I don't think this has to do with race. I don't believe this type of crime should result in decades of imprisonment. And I'm not sure how we, as a society, got to that point. If you're making the point that Wiener gets a better deal than most, the solution is to give others a better deal too.
Also, I should note that the vast, vast majority of CP offenders are white men, so it shouldn't be alarming that a white male defendant is the one who got a break. What's more interesting is that he got a break period, when in this District he'd likely be facing at least 10 years, and would likely get 20 with about half the judges. Others may disagree, but I believe that such sentences are unhinged.
and a maximum fine of $250,000...
Don't have my guideline book, but I would give him the equivalent of 3-levels below the 120 months for acceptance. I would probably reduce it further because I think these guidelines are out of whack. I would probably end up around 4 to 5 years.
There is obviously a huge difference between a child porn crime (for consuming) and attempting to commit a child porn crime. Weiner's case belongs in the latter category. The suggestion that consumers of child porn receive unreasonably high sentences is inapt here. But for the distance between Weiner and his "sex partner," one would have to believe a crime would have been committed and a child would have been hurt. There is thus a seriously strong argument to be made that Weiner should get the sentence prescribed by the Guidelines. The knee-jerk response is to think he deserves less, but my sense is this is only because we all feel like we know the guy and he is a just a poor chap. No reason to treat him differently from anyone else in the same predicament.
"and the stats are that well above 95% of people who indulge this behavior on-line don't take it further..."
NOT TRUE. No Cites. Research from the BOP SOTP program shows over 60% when polygraphed DO have a hands on prior offense or attempt.
Post a Comment