Judge not comfortable with child porn sentence

Milford Superior Court Judge Eddie Rodriguez Jr. was in the hot seat the other day. The editorial board of the New Haven Register took aim at him for comments he made while sentencing a man who pled guilty to the possession of child pornography to five years in prison. "You're being sentenced by the legislature," the judge told him. "Our hands are tied." The judge apparently had reservations about whether the sentence was just. Why do we permit lawmakers, most of whom would probably wet themselves if they ever darkened the door of an actual courtroom, to belch out mandatory minimum sentences for offenses as though they were passing out government contracts to favored constituents? It's too easy for them to pander to angry voters, especially when it comes to folks stigmatized as sex offenders. [...]

I repeat what I have suggest here before: Anyone wanting to serve as a lawmaker should be required to spend a week or so behind bars, locked up in a cell. Prison is a harsh sanction, and it should be meted out only after a judge has been given the ability to assess whether it is required. Too often lawmakers dole out mandatory sentences as though they are candy. I say make them eat a pound or two of the garbage they call justice. Let them see how it tastes.

source: Article 'Judge Not Comfortable With Child Porn Sentence' by Norm Pattis (criminal defense lawyer and civil rights attorney in Bethany); www.ctlawtribune.com/getarticle.aspx?ID=38037; Connecticut Law Tribune; 23 August 2010