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Sunday, October 09, 2011
Courts - "A Judge’s Education, a Sentence at a Time"
Judge Denny Chin of Federal District Court in Manhattan and the thought process behind his sentencing decisions is the subject of a very long story today in the NY Times, reported by Benjamin Weiser. A few quotes:
Judge Chin, 57, who last year was elevated by President Obama to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York, after nearly 16 years on the trial bench, is best known for the 150-year sentence he gave Bernard L. Madoff, arguably the most prominent white-collar sentence in the history of American law.But it has been largely anonymous defendants ... whose cases have influenced his thinking about how to balance punishment and rehabilitation, deterrence and compassion.
“There’s no doubt that all of these cases shaped me,” Judge Chin said, “and shaped the way I think, and the way I respond to things.”
He took the bench in 1994 at age 40 with little experience in criminal law. He has since sentenced more than 1,100 defendants, including at least a dozen who received sentences of life or the equivalent, according to court statistics. He quickly learned, he said, that preparation was crucial and that he must not agonize over his decisions. One seasoned judge had advised: “Rule and roll.” Be decisive. Don’t second-guess yourself.
In a series of interviews conducted in person and through e-mail over the past year, Judge Chin discussed his most challenging sentencing decisions, cases that became essential parts of his education as a judge. The interviews were unusual; judges rarely agree to discuss cases, even closed ones, like these, outside court. The exchanges provided a revealing look at how one judge approached the task of sentencing, which he called “the hardest thing” about being on the bench.
“It is just not a natural or everyday thing to do,” Judge Chin explained, “to pass judgment on people, to send them to prison or not.”
“I mean, there is so much at stake,” he added, “and there are so many different considerations that come into play.”
Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 9, 2011 03:23 PM
Posted to Courts in general