Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 2003 Source: Athens Banner-Herald (GA) Copyright: 2003 Athens Newspapers Inc Contact: http://www.onlineathens.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1535 ASHCROFT MEMO MEANS MORE SENTENCE APPEALS WASHINGTON (AP)- Attorney General John Ashcroft wants prosecutors to closely monitor which judges impose more lenient sentences than federal guidelines recommend, a step some critics say could limit judicial independence. Ashcroft directed U.S. attorneys nationwide to promptly report to Justice Department headquarters when a sentence is a "downward departure" from guidelines and not part of a plea agreement in exchange for cooperation. "The Department of Justice has a solemn obligation to ensure that laws concerning criminal sentencing are faithfully, fairly and consistently enforced," Ashcroft wrote in the memo issued July 28. Critics say the result will be more power in the hands of prosecutors and impermissible restraints on judicial discretion. "It's telling judges from the get-go, 'If you want to depart that you will be put on a list and you will be watched,"' said Ryan King, research associate with The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit group seeking alternatives to prison. "We're no longer judging a case on the merits." Prosecutors were told in Ashcroft's memo to make sure the government is prepared to appeal more of these sentences if such a decision is made by lawyers in Solicitor General Theodore Olson's office. The upshot is that more decisions to appeal will be made at "main Justice" in Washington rather than left to prosecutors in the field. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom