Video: The Question Of Judicial Misconduct In Case Of Sholom Rubashkin

First, a quick overview by Mary Price Vice, president and general counsel, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) of the questions of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct in the case of Sholom Rubashkin

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court is expected to announce whether it will review the case of Sholom Rubashkin, who has attained cause celebre status for the remarkable events surrounding his trial and sentencing. Everything about this case is BIG. Months of planning and hundreds of agents went into pulling off a 2009 raid at Rubashkin's kosher meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa. More than 375 workers were arrested -- many ultimately deported -- and hundreds of charges lodged against Rubashkin alleging child labor and immigration law violations. He was acquitted of every one.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors transformed one count of bank fraud into more than 90 counts by the time the case went to trial. Rubashkin was convicted on most, and the government dropped its next bomb: It planned to ask the judge to impose a sentence of life in prison. This was too much for 23 former high-ranking Department of Justice officials and U.S. Attorneys. They sent an unprecedented letter to the judge decrying the audacity of the proposal. The government blinked and reduced its request to 25 years.

On June 21, 2010, Judge Linda Reade sentenced this first time, nonviolent, well-regarded defendant to 27 years in federal prison.

Only after the trial did the defense receive stunning news. Judge Reade had met secretly and repeatedly with prosecutors and law enforcement in the months before the agents descended on the plant, helping to plan the raid and coordinate the processing of arrested workers. Legal experts cried foul, and Rubashkin's counsel raised serious questions about Judge Reade's objectivity and investment in ensuring a harsh outcome. Those ex parte meetings, as well as how the judge arrived at the functional life sentence for Mr. Rubashkin, are the grounds for the cert petition the Court is considering today.

Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, Mr. Rubashkin will be nearly 80 years old before he returns to his family.

Next year, a documentary -- UNJUSTIFIED -- will be released, directed by Nicholas McKinney. It is a documentary about the issues with the Justice system in general -- and examines the problems with the case brought against Sholom Rubashkin.

Here is the segment on Rubaskhin:



Here is a 2-minute trailer:



For background on how the government has has responded to the issues of misconduct in the case of Rubashkin, read Gov’t Brief Opposing Rubashkin Petition Distorts The Record

-----

If you found this post interesting or informative, please it below. Thanks!

Technorati Tag: Rubashkin.