A district court judge in Texas sentenced a former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director to 46 months in jail for hacking into the Houston Astros computers. Wow. Yes, it is a crime and there were five counts against him, each of which could carry a 5-year sentence. The defendant did plead guilty and this was a plea bargain.
Contrast that with former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, who was charged with overseeing brutality in the L.A. County jails, lying to federal investigators and moving around an informant so that the FBI could not get access to him. The proposal from the prosecution was for a six-month sentence, where physical violence against prisoners was involved. The federal judge refused to accept the plea, but we are talking six months here!
The two cases highlight the fact that in federal court, cases are generally assigned to a given judge for handling from start to finish. If you are unlucky enough to be a defendant, your fate lies in his or her hands. Criminal defense lawyers (and prosecutors) need to judge the bona fides and track record of the judge in cutting a deal. The judge's obligation is to "do justice "and that supersedes the desires of the lawyers on the case.
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