What will AG Mukasey do about federal sentencing policy?
As detailed in this New York Times article, the “Senate confirmed Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general Thursday night, approving him despite Democratic criticism that he had failed to take an unequivocal stance against the torture of terrorism detainees.” As the article further explains, the “53-to-40 vote made Mr. Mukasey, a former federal judge, the third person to head the Justice Department during the tenure of President Bush, placing him in charge of an agency that members of both parties say suffered under the leadership of Alberto R. Gonzales.”
As noted here, there was very little sentencing talk at Mukasey’s confirmation hearings. But, Mukasey now takes over the Justice Department at a time when possible Booker fixes, crack sentences, mandatory minimums, federal death penalty policy, lethal injection litigation, extreme sentences for white-collar and non-violent offenses and national sex offender policies all are ripe topics for DOJ leadership. It will be very interesting to see if he does anything consequential in these areas over the next year.
Some related posts (asking lots of questions):