Holder Resignation HIghlights New Possibilities

Attorney General Eric Holder Submits Resignation to Obama

 

By Derek Gilna

 

            United States Attorney General Eric Holder, a former federal judge, submitted his resignation Thursday, September 25, in a move that has been anticipated for months.  Holder has served as Attorney General for 6 years.  During that tumultuous period, he was a lightening rod for criticism on many issues, but a strong and steadfast supporter of sentencing reform and racial justice.  His resignation draws attention to the significant changes that have happened at Justice during is tenure-and how you can take advantage of those changes.

            To begin with, he has appointed numerous assistant US attorneys and other staffers who are not prejudiced against prisoners and prisoner rights.  Since the beginning of the Obama administration, hundreds of Bush-era appointees have left for private practice. The new hires have been Democrats, traditionally more sensitive to civil and prisoner rights.  As a result, the new appointees are uniform “hard-liners,” and less likely to misuse their authority.

            Secondly, Holder has refused to replace many departing attorneys in local offices (Texas comes to mind immediately), where it is difficult to find people in the administration’s philosophical mold.  As a result, vacancies in those offices are going unfilled, leaving remaining attorneys with higher caseloads and more making them much more likely to reach plea agreements that might actually be fair.

            Finally, Holder has changed the way district court judges have looked at the DOJ and the federal government.  Since Holder and Obama began pressuring the Sentencing Commission and reforming the Clemency Office to release more prisoners, judges are feeling freer to speak out against the War on Drugs and long sentences, and actually ask AUSA’s tough questions, and rule against them in close cases.

            Let me give you an example based upon personal experience.  I was in court in Washington, D.C. in the past two weeks working with local counsel on a pending 2255 petition, as result of an order entered by a federal district court judge REQUIRING the BOP, (not the US Attorney) to answer the judge’s tough questions about a sensitive area of the litigation.  Although legal ethics prevent divulging further details, allow me to say that this is almost unprecedented, and a clear indicator that not only has the judicial climate on prisoner rights changed for the better, but that a well-drawn petition or motion, drafted by someone with experience and the energy to pursue every right you have coming to you, is your most effective tool in gaining sentence relief. 

 

dgilna1948@yahoo.com