KEEPING EYE ON THE JUDGES

Ashcroft Shouldn't Try To Interfere With Another Branch

In an effort to get tough on crime, Attorney General John Ashcroft is coming precariously
close to stepping over the line that separates the executive and judicial branches.

Ashcroft has directed his federal prosecutors to report to him any
federal judges who, on their own, impose sentences that are more
lenient than federal sentencing guidelines.

Even among some conservative judges and Supreme Court justices,
including Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the sentencing guidelines
have been extremely unpopular. These judges point out that by
attempting to treat every case and every defendant exactly the same,
fairness and justice can be removed from the equation.

Ashcroft, on the other hand, is a strong proponent of the sentencing
guidelines. And the fact that he now wants to keep tabs on those
judges who don't abide by them could well be seen as an attempt to
create an atmosphere where he uses his bully pulpit to force the
judges into compliance.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a group of conservative House
Republicans have joined in the chorus. They have formed the Working
Group on Judicial Accountability to monitor and report on federal
judges they suspect of being too lenient.

Back at the beginning of this country, the founders had the foresight
to create three separate branches of government so that neither a
chief executive, the judges nor the lawmakers could dominate and force
their will without being subject to checks and balances from the other
two branches.

Ashcroft and DeLay would do well to remember that history lesson,
along with another American tradition -- with justice, one also should
consider mercy. Each case and each defendant is different. Sentences
should never be an automatic one-size-fits-all.