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| Judges May Still Cut Prison Terms, Md. Court Rules |
| By Washington Post |
| Published: 10/12/2001 |
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Maryland's highest court yesterday said that the state's judges could continue to reduce the sentences of criminals, even years after their cases have been closed and public attention has waned. The court did vote unanimously to require that judges make sure prosecutors notify crime victims before reducing a sentence and to state their reasons, in writing, when they shorten a prison term. Maryland is the only state to allow judges nearly complete discretion to reduce the sentences they impose. Until yesterday's vote, judges could do that without notifying victims and without stating why. 'It's a more open process to give a reason,' said Judge Dale R. Cathell. 'I want to avoid the defense attorney and the state's attorney getting together and keeping everything secret.' Judges can reduce sentences because of a 50-year-old court rule, not state law. Yesterday's court vote was to tighten that rule. But proponents of stricter limits on judges said they were not satisfied by the new requirements. They had sought a one-year time limit after which judges could not revisit a case and reduce a sentence. They had tried to persuade the court to adopt the tougher time limit and had tried for two years to persuade the legislature to impose a time limit on judges. 'I think it's inadequate. It provides no finality to the system,' Sen. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Montgomery) said of yesterday's court action. 'Revising sentences is what parole and probation is all about.' Still, Van Hollen, who had sought to enact a time-limit law this year, stopped short of saying he would again push legislation during the General Assembly session that begins in January. |
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