SENTENCING GUIDELINES NEED RETOOLING, FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS

A federal judge told members of the Charleston Rotary on Friday that
he questions the fairness of the prison sentences calculated in
federal criminal cases.

"A person with a perfectly clean record will receive a mandatory
sentence of five years for selling five grams of crack cocaine," US
District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin said. "You can embezzle all of the
money that you can get your hands on, $100 million or $200 million,
and you'll serve as little as 12 and a half months."

Goodwin also urged his audience to "confront our own personal, passive
acceptance of stereotypes" that contribute to injustices. He cited
unfair instances of "racial profiling" by police.

"You can't say that profiling is a bad thing. Profiling is following
clues," he said. "It's when you conclude that a particular ethnic
group is more prone to commit crime that you cross the line."

With his speech, Goodwin joined a growing chorus of judges, lawyers
and others in the legal community who want Congress to retool the
federal sentencing guidelines.

The complex set of rules was designed to create a uniform method by
which federal judges across the country can arrive at the same
sentences for the same crimes.

Critics have singled out the way the guidelines punish crimes
involving crack cocaine much more harshly than those involving the
powder form of the drug.

These critics further point out that crack cocaine prosecutions
typically involve blacks, while suspects in powder cocaine cases are
usually white.

"These stark distinctions ... cause many to question the racial
neutrality of the guidelines as written and applied," Goodwin said.
"The guidelines aren't always consistent with the objectives of
uniformity, and nearly every federal judge I know perceives problems."

Goodwin also wanted to "make something perfectly clear" to his
audience.

"I am not soft on crime. I am not soft on drug dealers," Goodwin said.
"Drug crimes cause a lot of harm and lot of destruction."

He instead stressed the need for a color-blind and balanced criminal
justice system.

In addition to possible racial disparities, the guidelines have
affected the separation of powers between the judges of the judicial
branch and the prosecutors of the executive branch. The rules strip
judges of discretion, while allowing prosecutors to predetermine a
possible sentence based on the way they present each case.

"The guidelines have, in important instances, reallocated [discretion]
from the judges to the prosecutors," he said.

The district's US Attorney, Kasey Warner, "is sensitive to this
issue," Goodwin said. "He is doing a terrific job."

The judge said he hopes Warner is able to develop a policy that helps
guide drug cases to the proper court. State law deals much less
harshly with minor drug offenses than federal court, he told the audience.

Goodwin similarly questioned the logic behind the fact that "prison
operations are one of the fastest-growing segments in the US."

"If this phenomenon were justified, then the United States would hands
down be the safest nation in the industrialized world," he said.
"Instead, we are one of the most dangerous."