27/06/03

Federal Judge Resigns, Calling Judicial System Unjust

Larry Neumeister

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A federal judge said Tuesday he is quitting what he called an unjust criminal justice system, fed up with Congress' quest to boost prison sentences and prevent judges from deciding how long someone is imprisoned.

"Congress is mandating things simply because they want to show how tough they are on crime with no sense of whether this makes sense or is meaningful," Judge John S. Martin said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The result, he said, is a slew of lengthy prison sentences for low-level drug dealers "who society failed at every step."

"Sentences should be just. We shouldn't be putting everybody in jail for the rest of their life," Martin said.

Court officials announced Martin's resignation Tuesday. A one-time U.S. attorney, Martin said he plans to complete his caseload by the end of summer and re-enter private practice. He said he is considering organizing former federal judges and top prosecutors to lobby Congress to make guidelines more sensible.

Martin conceded he also wants to make more money after serving for 13 years in a judgeship that pays less than what second-year associates make at many law firms. Federal judges earn $154,700.

But he said the prime motivation came when President Bush signed into law April 30 a bill that forces federal judges to strictly follow sentencing guidelines. It also limits the number of judges sitting on a commission that determines the guidelines.

Among other prominent cases, Martin has presided over the pending lawsuit between insurers of the World Trade Center and the twin towers' leaseholder. He has also won a reputation as a judge capable of stern sentences _ in sentencing one violent gang member to life, Martin ordered the man held in solitary confinement and said he would have imposed death if he could.

Martin said he supports the premise of sentencing guidelines, which are meant to ensure sentencing nationwide is uniform. But he attacked what he said were efforts by Congress to impose harsh sentences, designed for the stereotypical criminal, on every defendant.

"Nobody in Congress wants to let an opponent have a 30-second commercial that says congressman so-and-so reduced the penalties for selling crack," the judge said.

Meanwhile, he said, the guidelines continue to treat crack cocaine as 100 times more dangerous than powered cocaine.

Martin wrote in an opinion column published in The New York Times Tuesday that he never thought he would leave the federal bench, a lifetime appointment that began May 22, 1990.

"While I might have stayed on despite the inadequate pay, I no longer want to be part of our unjust criminal justice system," he wrote.