“Too light.” “Lenient.” “A slap on the wrist.” “Perverted.” There’s quite a bit of hand-wringing about the 4 year sentence that Judge T.J. Ellis handed down Thursday to Paul Manafort.But Judge Ellis should be commended for doing the right — and hard — thing despite the enormous amount of pressure by the Special Counsel’s Office, the media, and the public to sentence Manafort to 20 years in prison. Judges are meant to be a check on the executive and not just a rubber stamp for oppressive government requests.
Twenty years would have been absurd for a 69-year-old, first time, non-violent offender. The sentencing guidelines, which came out to 19.5-24.5 years in this case, are deliberately draconian to induce pleas and discourage trials. They are so over-the-top that when a judge issues a fair sentence as Judge Ellis did, it is viewed as too low even though it isn’t. The system is skewed on purpose, to burden the right to trial.
No one will complain when Rick Gates, who pleaded guilty and is cooperating in the same case, is sentenced to far less than 4 years (and very possibly no jail). And no one will complain when Michael Flynn receives little to no jail.
Judge Ellis had to balance many competing issues in issuing a fair sentence. But one factor that thankfully did not come into play was jacking up Manafort’s sentence simply for proceeding to trial. Those out there calling for 20 years can’t articulate any good reason for giving Manafort such a lengthy sentence while no one else from the Special Counsel’s investigation has received anything even remotely close.
Four years in prison for a 69-year old unhealthy defendant is not going to be easy by any stretch. That’s real time.
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
Friday, March 08, 2019
Four years is the right sentence for Manafort
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20 comments:
Think you set up a false choice. The choice was not between 4 and 20. What's your best argument as to why 4 is the "right" sentence as opposed to 6, or 8, or 12? Another false choice is only comparing Manafort's sentence to those received in other Special Counsel cases. In this district, a person of color who commits a simple credit card fraud and pleads guilty has to eat a two-year mandatory minimum. Poor Ecuadorian fisherman have to eat 10 years. He got the rich white guy treatment fro ma rich white judge, simple as that.
Rich. White. Male.
No issue with the sentence. Issue with the disparate treatment of defendants of color and defendants who lack wealth.
ScottAfrica
20 years was too much.
But 47 months?! C'mon DOM!
To quote Stephen Colbert on Manafort:
"He wasn't so much a first-time offender as a first-time getting caughter."
What? No trial penalty? Convicted by a jury and got a below guidelines sentence. Wonders never cease.
@the commenters re "risc and white"
The sentence was reasonable. The fact that poor colored people get the shaft is wrong. Saying that the rich white man should get the wrong sentence too because poor colored people get the wrong sentence is also wrong.
I know this issue is complicated, but, two wrongs don't make a right.
1:43: "two wrongs don't make a right"?
No. It is just ONE WRONG!
The American justice system treats people of color more harshly than whites. From Start to Finish.
From charging decisions, to bond decisions, to enhancements, to plea offers, to sentencing, to incarceration.
You and DOM can try to spin it anyway you want, but it is just
One, Single, Ugly, Undeniable, Unconstitutional WRONG.
4 years solitary = likely physical death, certain mental death. Dont worry Judge Berman will crush him unbelievably....im guessing another 10 consecutive. Trump should let the ellis sentence stand and pardon the others.
SCO charged the case in an unprecedented way to inflate the guidelines. We all know Ellis is right that they only charged him at all to squeeze him. SCO is acting exceedingly politically, and Judges exist to check executive overreach. Ellis sent the appropriate message:
Dear Feds,
He is dirty so he gets some jail, but i won't crucify him just because you are on a rampage. You are supposed to be looking for russian collusion, and this case is nothing of the sort. You find collusion, charge it and I'll play ball. But really, if this is everything, you are embarrassing yourself. Grow up.
What I find most interesting is the commentary from thebleft putting pressure on the DC Judge to hammer Manafort when he is sentenced in the second case next week. Doesn’t the left realize that advocating for harsh sentences in white collar cases will not reduce the harsh sentences in street crime cases. Thebkeft is playing right into the hands of theblaw and order right. We will simply have a system where everyone receives harsh sentences. Is that the Justice they are seeking? They would be better off supporting his Judge for having the courage to say no to a draconian sentence and encourage other Judges to show similar courage in all types of cases for all types of Defendants. I would think most non-Government Attorney’s would support this sentence.
There is over-incarceration and under-incarceration in the system. White collar economic and fraud crimes are under incarcerated often at the federal level, where you see a couple of year sentences for stealing multiple millions from federal programs (even with no cooperation), money that is not recovered. This fails to be punishment or deterrent. The under incarceration of stealing and fraud for first time (caught) offenders needs to be addressed. I am pro mandatory minimums in the fraud area so that there at least is a floor to keep disparate sentences at a minimum. Manafort getting less than 5 years is a joke. Had he "aplogized", this judge may have given him even less. The Judge used the words "serious crimes," and then proceeded to give the crimes by this unrepentant, lying, greedy selfish 70 year old man who had committed crimes over several years the joke treatment.
There is over incarceration for some non-white collar (people of color) crimes, especially at the state systems. Rockefeller type mandatory minimums for small quantities of drugs are still around. At the state level over incarceration is especially acute where you see over incarceration for recidivists (three-strikes) on minor felonies (marihuana possession as a felony, shop lifting as "grand" larceny felony because the value is over a couple of hundred bucks). The
The NY POST picked up your piece:
https://nypost.com/2019/03/08/four-years-was-the-right-manafort-sentence-and-other-commentary/
"where you see a couple of year sentences for stealing multiple millions from federal programs (even with no cooperation), money that is not recovered" - This is not under incarceration. Two years and a felony conviction is effectively the end of a normal middle class life, for ever. Its plenty of incarceration.
But there is definitely over incarceration for non-white collar offenses.
"Street" crimes. Oh brother, say what you rally mean.
I think someone doesn't know what "two wrongs don't make a right" means.
I think someone wouldn't acknowledge the existence of institutional discrimination if it bit them in the rear
9:56 - No, a couple of years too often not enough. A couple of years incarceration in exchange for stealing a several (even more than 10) millions (and getting to a good chunk of it) is a tempting deal where your other option is working hard for low pay for the rest of your life and never attaining such wealth. In the mean time, you got to drive a nice car, take nice vacations, eat well, and take care of your family. If you 1/2 smart, you stashed a good sum where it won't be taken by the feds. After prison, you have a nice stash of cash that you can enjoy and then open a business or go right back to doing it all over again. I have seen many a fraudsters and major drug traffickers who seemed to have factored in the sentence into the business like decision to do the crime.
I think most fraudsters think they can get over, charm their way, or just plain ol' lie their way out of any jam and they don't think they will ever get caught, even after the get caught.
Just look at trump
Get me BEN DANIEL.
one day it would truly be nice if your point of view on any issue surprised me
ZZZZZZZ
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