It’s not my habit to defend John Ashcroft. But lately, I’ve almost been tempted (emphasize almost).
The attorney general has been blasted for a memo sent out in late July that calls for U.S. attorneys to report to the Justice Department all criminal cases in which federal trial judges impose less stringent sentences “over the objection of the Government.” As a New York Times editorial (which sums up the prevailing attitude pretty well) puts it: “Mr. Ashcroft has ordered federal prosecutors to start collecting information on federal judges. � Critics are right when they say that this has the potential to create a ‘blacklist’ of judges who could then be subjected to intimidation.”
