AN UNNECESSARY ORDER?

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft is becoming a prolific writer of memos to the
94 U.S. attorneys.

His latest instructs them to pursue the toughest possible charges and
seek the severest possible sentences. He also ordered them to limit
the use of plea bargains. The goal, Ashcroft said, is to bring
uniformity and consistency to federal criminal prosecutions.

By itself, the order is not unreasonable. It reflects the Bush
administration's stand on law enforcement, and it cites a similar
order the Justice Department issued in 1989 during the administration
of President Bush's father.

The order was relaxed during the Clinton administration. Ashcroft's
order has reasonable exceptions on plea bargaining, for example, to
reward cooperation with defendants and to clear overcrowded court dockets.

But if there is a problem with overly lenient sentences and go-easy
prosecutors, the Justice Department has yet to prove it. Ashcroft
might be trying to fix a system that isn't broken. The order runs the
risk of diminishing the discretion of federal judges and prosecutors -
a critical point now that more offenses that were once purely subject
to state law are now federal crimes.

Ashcroft also has told the U.S. attorneys to report judges who impose
lighter sentences than are called for by federal sentencing
guidelines. Mandatory minimum sentences are already under attack for
being too strict, and attempts by the Bush administration to force
judges to abide by them have been denounced by Chief Justice William
Rehnquist as a dangerous intrusion into the independence of the judiciary.

The order can be seen as part of a pattern of the attorney general's
office centralizing control of federal prosecutions in Washington.
That is a worrisome development considering Ashcroft's seeming
insensitivity to privacy and civil liberty concerns.

Seeking the toughest charges with the maximum sentences could increase
the federal judiciary's workload. According to the Justice Department,
96 percent of cases in the federal system never go to trial; they are
settled by guilty pleas, pleas to lesser charges or dismissal. With
little possibility of a plea bargain, defendants have an incentive to
go to trial and then continue the fight through the appeals process.

An increase in the rate and length of incarceration is also a cost
concern. Taxpayers will have to shell out to keep more people locked
up longer. Congress should demand that Ashcroft explain why this order
is necessary.