Pubdate: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 Source: Tennessean, The (TN) 56719587 Copyright: 2004 The Tennessean Contact: http://www.tennessean.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/ashcroft.htm (Ashcroft, John) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) IS THE ARTICLE REAL OR IS IT ASHCROFT ASTRO-TURFING? If witnesses in a criminal trial all told the same story, a U.S. attorney might question if they had collaborated on their story for the benefit of a defendant. So when Middle Tennessee's U.S. Attorney, Jim Vines, writes an opinion piece on mandatory minimum sentencing that reads like a similarly written article by the Eastern District U.S. Attorney Sandy Mattice for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and another article by a federal prosecutor in Guam, he shouldn't be surprised that someone might ask how this occurred. Vines is entitled to his opinion, even one remarkably like that expressed by other federal prosecutors. He explained that he had taken some talking points and statistics from a U.S. Department of Justice report and used it in his article, but he insisted the department was not directly involved in the article. Pardon the suspicions, but Attorney General John Ashcroft hasn't shown much of a preference for independence in his U.S. attorneys. Many attorneys general run a tight ship, but Ashcroft's is tighter than most. Indeed, Ashcroft has called for prosecutors to monitor which judges are more lenient on sentencing, a threat to judicial independence if there ever was one. Astro-turfing or phony grassroots campaigning on mandatory minimum sentencing sounds like the department doesn't brook much freedom of thought there either. It also sounds like red meat for an election year bid to be the toughest on crime. With a war on terror, the Justice Department surely has better things to do than provide talking points for its attorneys. The issue of mandatory minimum sentencing deserves the widest possible debate within the federal government and within states. While it can cause prison overcrowding and long sentences for lesser crimes, it has an impact close to home. Federal prosecutors may be employees of the U.S. Department of Justice, but the cases they choose and the decisions they make directly impact the communities they serve. State and federal prosecutors need leeway to make the best decisions to fight crime in their areas. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, one of the court's conservatives, has called for scrapping mandatory minimum sentencing for certain federal crimes. People do have different views. The scales of justice have two sides. The Department of Justice should have no less. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D