In light of the current public discussions regarding whether judges should strictly interpret the law or not, it seems as though it is only fitting to highlight the philosophy of this extraordinary U.S. District Court judge from the Western District of Washington.
The story of “One Judge Makes the Case for Judgment: John Coughenour says federal sentencing guidelines are overly punitive, coldly algorithmic measures that strip the courtroom of nuance.
Without discretion, what’s the judiciary for?” ran recently in The Atlantic. Most interestingly, this federal judge who rides a Harley, spends his free time in prisons visiting the defendants that he has sentenced, and has rebelled against what he sees as the “inhumane and robotic” federal sentencing guidelines ever since they were established in the mid-1980s was appointed by a respected Republican President, none other than Ronald Reagan.