Posted on January 4, 2012 by Anthony Lake

Georgia to Take on Sentencing and Prison Reform

Image source: http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/02/seven_guards_arrested_for_retaliatory_abuse_of_georgia_prison_inmate.html

Two articles in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the past two days reveal a sudden new priority of Georgia's leadership to tackle criminal sentencing and prison reform. First, the AJC interviewed Governor Nathan Deal, who acknowledged the growing costs of Georgia's prison system. “We’re at a point in time where the necessity for doing something has gotten so big that to turn our head and pretend the problem does not exist is not responsible government,” the Governor told interviewers. The Governor said that the State now spends more than $1 billion per year on the prison system.

The article also quotes Georgia's Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform, which has recommended changing the criminal code to result in shorter sentences for some non-violent offenders, and to increase the options for alternatives to sentences of incarceration. Another proposal is for a "safety valve" provision, similar to Federal sentencing, for courts to impose lesser sentences in some drug trafficking cases.

Also, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle stated in an interview yesterday, regarding sentencing and prison reform, that  "It's a conversation that I think needs to happen. We are in a position to where we can, with technological advancements, have home arrest, we can have ankle bracelets. There are a lot of tools that are available to us today that save money but also help the individual as well."

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Posted on October 11, 2010 by Anthony Lake

Federal Prosecutors Observe "No Touch" Ruling on Possible Retrial of San Diego Councilman for Alleged Honest Services Fraud; Former Alaska Chief of Staff to Have Honest Services Conviction Dismissed

Last week was a good one for public officials charged with Federal crimes. First, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced that it would not seek a second trial of former San Diego Councilman Michael Zucchet on alleged honest services fraud charges pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1346, relating to political contributions from the owner of a strip club, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Zucchet was indicted with two other City Council members and an aide in 2003. The government alleged that the Council members had a meeting with a lobbyist for the strip club owner for the alleged purpose of changing the City's "no touch" ordinances relating to strip clubs. The Council members, however, argued that they reported the contributions on their financial disclosure forms. The government's decision was prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. v. Skilling, No. 08-2349, in which, as we have noted,  the Court held that the "honest services" mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. §1346, applies to bribery and kickback schemes, and not to mere "undisclosed self-dealing by a public official or private employee," alone.

Councilman Charles Lewis died before trial. Mr. Zucchet and Councilman Ralph Inzunza were convicted by a jury following trial in July of 2005. However, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller dismissed the jury's guilty verdict on seven counts against Mr. Zucchet. The Judge permitted the government to retry Mr. Zucchet on the two remaining counts. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court's ruling on appeal. Mr. Inzunza has also appealed his convictions. Mr. Zucchet resigned from the Council soon after his conviction, and is currently General Manager of the San Diego Municipal Employees Association.

Then, according to the Achorage Daily News, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska announced that it would agree to the dismissal of the honest services fraud conviction of Jim Clark. Mr. Clark was the former Chief of Staff to Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski, a lobbyist and attorney, and was once viewed as the most powerful unelected official in Alaska. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that Mr. Clark's 2008 guilty plea was to a felony that no longer exists, pursuant to the Supreme Court's Skilling decision. Mr. Clark pled guilty to alleged conspiring with former officials of the defunct oil-field services company Veco Corp. to channel $68,550 in illegal contributions to Governor Murkowski's political campaign -- without the Governor's knowledge. He is expected to be a witness for the government in a possible upcoming trial of State Representative Bruce Weyhrauch on bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges. Mr. Clark's law license, which was suspended following his guilty plea, is expected to be reinstated by the Alaska Supreme Court.

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