When Berks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Stephen Lieberman increased the sentence of a sex offender sevenfold, he clearly showed judicial vindictiveness, a federal judge ruled.
"This case presents the rare situation in which it is not necessary to determine whether the presumption of vindictiveness applies because it is clear that the petitioner has met the ‘exceedingly difficult’ burden of proving actual vindictiveness," said U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, granting Richard Balsavage’s habeas petition.
