One may ask why David Wildstein, the so-called “mastermind” of the Bridgegate scandal, was given a non-custodial sentence while lesser participants received sentences of incarceration. The answer is clear: Wildstein cooperated with the U.S. Attorney and provided evidence used to prosecute others. The U.S. Attorney requested a non-custodial sentence, and Wildstein got three years’ probation and 500 hours of community service.
We are reminded of the discussion of the purposes of sentencing and the role of the sentencing judge developed by our state Supreme Court in the 1960 opinion of Chief Justice Weintraub in State v. Ivan, 33 N.J. 197 (1960). Much of what he had to say, particularly about the need and ability to deter, can be seen within the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice’s sentencing emphasis on the significance of the crime as opposed to the offender.
