More
HenchPAC NewsChief U.S. District Judge James A. Parker told prosecutors last week that it was unfair of them to ask for a strict prison sentence in a New Mexico perjury case, pointing out that President Clinton recently asked for leniency for lying under oath.
Parker said other factors warranted the sentence he imposed, but that Clinton's pleadings were somewhat "icing on the cake."
Parker said it seemed "terribly unfair" that the U.S. Department of Justice was trying to "pillorize" Ruben Renteria Sr. when Clinton, for similar or more "egregious" conduct, was asking for leniency.
Clinton was found in contempt of court in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case for lying about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Just last month, Parker issued a stinging rebuke of the Clinton administration's prosecution of Wen Ho Lee, who was convicted on one count of mishandling government nuclear-weapon secrets.
According to newspaper stories, Clinton told an Arkansas judge in late August that losing his law license was too harsh a penalty for lying under oath in the Paula Jones case.
U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright found Clinton in contempt, fined him $90,000 and referred the case to the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct. The committee in turn has recommended that Clinton be disbarred.
Parker has declined comment on the Renteria case, saying he intends to issue a written opinion.
The Renteria case resulted from a drug-smuggling investigation in the early 1990s. Renteria, 49, was acquitted of drug-conspiracy charges after spending 324 days in jail awaiting trial.
However, prosecutors later charged Renteria with perjury after he denied signing a consent form that gave investigators permission to search his property in Deming.
Renteria was convicted of one count of perjury, and Parker sentenced him in 1996 to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Prosecutors argued at the time that Renteria should be sentenced to 60 months in prison.
Renteria appealed his perjury conviction to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, and the government appealed the sentence.
The appeals court in 1998 affirmed Renteria's conviction but threw out the sentence because Parker followed an incorrect sentencing guideline.
The 10th Circuit directed Parker to hold a hearing to resentence Renteria.
In May 1999, Parker determined that the appropriate guideline term of imprisonment was 60 months but noted there were several criteria that could lower that sentencing range.
A spirited legal battle ensued over what sentencing criteria applied. Renteria's attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Joseph Gandert, argued in one court filing that the government was being too severe on Renteria when it failed to prosecute FBI agent Robert Messemer, who acknowledged that he had made "inadvertent" errors while testifying in the Wen Ho Lee case.
Prosecutors contend Parker suggested to Renteria at a hearing Aug. 30 that he argue for a less-severe sentence than 60 months based on Clinton's argument in the Paula Jones case.
Gandert included the Clinton argument in a court motion, and at a hearing on Oct. 4 Parker imposed a 15-month sentence again. At that hearing, Parker determined the proper range for sentencing was 15 to 21 months.
Among the reasons for choosing that guideline, Parker said, was that the government could not prove how much marijuana Renteria allegedly smuggled, that Renteria had already served the original 1996 sentence and that he was doing well at a full-time job.
Parker also gave Renteria credit for the 324 days he served while awaiting trial on the drug-conspiracy charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathon Gerson vehemently opposed lowering Renteria's sentence by anything more than the 324 days of pretrial confinement.
Gerson told Parker that it was "an abuse of this court's discretion to rely in any way" on the proceedings involving the president.
Parker said Clinton's pleadings are "icing on the cake" — adding "weight" to the other reasons he chose to lessen Renteria's sentence. But he said he would have made the same decision even without taking Clinton into account.
"I took it into account because I think it demonstrates how terribly unfair it is for the president's Department of Justice to be attempting to pillorize Mr. Renteria when the president, for similar conduct, or what is probably more egregious conduct in terms of its consequences, is claiming that the prospect of not being allowed to practice as an attorney in Arkansas is too harsh," Parker said, according to transcripts of the Oct. 4 hearing.
"It's just terribly out of balance. I don't see how I can ignore that. But it doesn't affect the bottom line, the sentence that I'm imposing."
U.S. Attorney Norman Bay said through a spokeswoman that his office is considering an appeal.
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A federal judge who sentenced a convicted perjurer to one year in prison instead of the recommended five said he based his decision partly on the fact that President Clinton asked for leniency when facing perjury charges.
Chief U.S. District Judge James Parker told prosecutors it seemed ``terribly unfair'' that the Department of Justice was trying to ``pillorize'' Ruben Renteria Sr. when Clinton was asking for leniency, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
Clinton was found in contempt of court and fined $90,000 by a federal judge in Arkansas for lying about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. A state court panel has recommended he be disbarred.
Renteria, 49, was acquitted of drug-conspiracy charges in the 1990s, but prosecutors later charged him with perjury after he denied signing a consent form that gave investigators permission to search his property.
He was convicted of perjury in 1996, but the 15-month sentence Parker imposed was thrown out on appeal.
In May 1999, Parker resentenced Renteria to five years in prison, but noted that the sentenced could be decreased. That led to a legal battle over sentencing criteria.
At an Oct. 4 hearing, defense attorney Joseph Gandert cited Clinton's requests for leniency made during his impeachment trial and during the ongoing case to disbar him.
Gandert also argued that the government was being severe on Renteria when it failed to prosecute FBI agent Robert Messemer, who admitted making ``inadvertent'' errors while testifying in the case of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee. Parker was the judge in the Lee case.
Parker imposed the 15-month sentence again, saying Renteria had served the original sentence and that Clinton's pleadings were the ``icing on the cake.''
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathon Gerson told Parker it was ``an abuse of this court's discretion to rely in any way'' on the proceedings involving the president. The office is considering an appeal.
HENCH adds: Just another instance where Klink has lowered the standards for Americans. Disbar him NOW.
More
HenchPAC News
[ Home ] [ News ] [ Products ]
To leave HENCH a message,
comment, or link: