Pubdate: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 Source: Roanoke Times (VA) Copyright: 2003 Roanoke Times Contact: http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368 ASHCROFT,SHRILL AND OFF-KEY The runaway attorney general is belting out policy riffs that strike a strained chord with a skeptical public. LAST WEEK, during a break in his USA Patriot Act tour, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft punched out a memo to his 94 federal prosecutors, telling them to throw the book - harder - at criminal defendants. Seek the maximum charges and sentences in almost all cases, Ashcroft directed prosecutors. Fewer soft-on-crime plea bargains was the implicit message. Not only is Ashcroft's flawed plea-bargain mandate the latest in a string that undermines the discretion of his own employees, but it further illustrates his zealous approach to law enforcement as the nation's No. 1 lawman. The increasingly apparent truth is, Ashcroft is a runaway attorney general who has exploited the war on terrorism to seek more federal law enforcement authority and transform the Justice Department to mirror his heavy-handed brand of justice. Of course, he doesn't see it that way. In fact, in much the same way Madonna, Springsteen and Clapton hit the road to boost sales of a new release, Ashcroft has been criss-crossing the country, touting the need to expand the prying, spying, justice-run-amok methods of the Patriot Act to fight the war on terrorism. His Patriot riff is falling on increasingly skeptical ears. Sentiment as measured in opinion surveys reflect a public worried that its personal liberties already are compromised under the existing law. Congressional members from both parties have raised legitimate concerns about expanding the legislation, of which little is known about its current use. Until Ashcroft can better demonstrate the effectiveness of the law - a monumental task, given several damaging encroachments on the Bill of Rights - - Congress is right to hold tight the reins on granting him more authority. As last week's memo indicated, when Ashcroft isn't hyping the Patriot Act, he's conducting flank attacks on his employees in a way that undermines the federal judicial system. The new policy just released on plea bargains ostensibly is designed to bring greater consistency to criminal prosecutions. But as critics - including some prosecutors - contend, the mandate will likely, among other drawbacks, increase sentences in cases that may not merit them. Prosecutors often use plea bargains as an effective tool to get defendants to cooperate, thereby speeding cases through court, saving time and tax dollars. But Ashcroft's meddlesome interference doesn't stop there. He even wants to know which federal judges sometimes hand down more lenient sentences. As the nation's attorney general, Ashcroft's role is not to recast American jurisprudence to his austere vision of justice but to enforce and uphold legal precepts that are consonant with the constitutional principles on which this nation was established. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth