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June 04, 2006

Judge spanks U.S. Attorney

A federal judge has taken a U.S. Attorney to the woodshed for his dogged pursuit of a prosecution of a man already convicted on similar state charges.

These comments are going to leave a mark.

In an abrasive court hearing Tuesday, Montana's chief federal judge reviled U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer, accusing him of federalizing criminal cases arbitrarily and because it's politically popular.

"Do you ever concern yourself with justice?" Chief U.S. District Judge Don Molloy asked Mercer during a federal court session in Missoula.

[...]

"This is a state case," Molloy said. "What is the federal interest in prosecuting this case? Clearly this person was rehabilitated. You know what this seems like to me? This seems like a number. This seems like a statistic."

[...]

"Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a small mind," Molloy said, quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson. "Your job is not to get convictions. Your job is to ensure that justice is done. I think that's just a real problem for you. Blind persistence to a technical claim. You're not pursuing justice. You're pursuing statistics."

[...]

"Your lawyers are not getting their briefs in on time," Molloy said. "You're in Washington, D.C., and you ought to be here in Montana doing your work. Your office is a mess."

Molloy also criticized the case's "convoluted history," noting that Mercer's office had previously moved to dismiss the case, a motion Molloy granted, but now wishes to re-indict Rothacher.

"I have a very significant concern about how the U.S. attorney's office has handled this," Molloy said.

"You have no credibility," he said. "None."

The defendant's attorney commented, "If I had a federal judge talk to me that way I would seriously consider changing professions."

Me too.

Posted by Mike Lief at June 4, 2006 05:32 PM | TrackBack

Comments

People leave law behind to pursue new careers, maybe in part because of their lack of reason or ethics. It worked for Bill Clinton. This guy is trying to build up a circle of friends in Washington.

I could be wrong, but I bet he processed the judge's comment and tossed it out without a lot of angst.

Posted by: Vermont Neighbor at June 5, 2006 09:46 AM

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