JS
What are your thoughts on the Lanya tangent, is she and the author of the article on the right track on this? Or is she trying to make applesause from oranges?
Will lawyers use some of the language when their clients face perjury and obstruction of justice charges and sentencing?
I'd think so. Isn't that what good defense attorneys do? Look at all the possibilities and legal avenues to try and defend their clients, including getting them to serve the least possible amount of time in prison?
Now, whether a judge will accept such arguments is another issue. I don't think I'd blame an attorney for trying, would you?
"It denigrates the significance of perjury prosecutions," John S. Martin Jr., a former U.S. attorney and federal judge in New York, said of the commutation.
"Consistency and fidelity to the law are extraordinarily important. We have expended a lot of credibility to get judges to buy off on this," said one senior federal prosecutor who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.
"I don't know how I am going to advise my people," the prosecutor said. "I cannot tell you how depressed and disgusted people are around here with this decision. It really undercuts law enforcement."
From what I can gather, these are attorneys (and a former Federal judge) making these statements. I respect the intelligence of a number of people on this forum, we have a great diversity of experience and knowledge here and that is one reason we have some really good debate. Yet, I'll be the first to say that I'm no attorney and this isn't my field of expertise by any means.
It interests me to hear the legal arguments of why this would disgust prosecutors and the legal arguments of those who disagree.
