The unusually severe sentence of 27 years in prison for Sholom Rubashkin is a victory for a prosecution that from the outset pursued a win-at-all-costs strategy. But the success comes at a price, and not just to the 51-year-old man now facing a virtual life sentence, his wife and 10 children. The government’s handling of this case has sullied our justice system…
U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose has decided that “silence is no longer in order” and has opted to defend her prosecution of Sholom Rubashkin in an open letter in the Des Moines Register that was also widely distributed to the media in general.
Sholom Mordechai will be locked up for longer than we had hoped. But in the end, the truth will prevail. Six former attorneys general of the United States and eminent law professors wrote to the judge sharply criticizing the U.S. Attorney for urging the court to impose a life sentence…
It was with a happy heart that I received the news that Sholom Rubashkin had been acquitted of all state child labor charges on June 7. I hope these words will keep our activities on behalf of Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin active and as the attorneys for Mr. Rubashkin file their appeal, we must speak out at every opportunity.
The government accused him of 9,311 counts of child labor. Mr. Rubashkin was roundly condemned and threatened by gentiles and Jews alike. There was no doubt as to his culpability. In the end, the government couldn’t try him on more than 67 counts. The jury, when presented with the facts, cleared him…
There were sixty eight counts of child labor law violations left against Shalom Rubashkin. And there were innumerable critics of Shalom Rubashkin. And it is sad to say, that some of those critics were some of his own brethren. Brethren that gleefully attacked, criticized and lambasted. The critics ranged from Conservative Rabbi Morris Allen to the Orthodox Tav HaYosher supervision to newspaper editors and pundits across the nation.
Six former U.S. attorneys general have criticized prosecutors’ recommendation that a kosher meatpacking plant executive receive life in prison for bank fraud.
The former attorneys general, as well as 17 other Justice Department veterans, expressed their concern in a letter to Linda Reade…
As a former United States District Court Judge, I have a unique perspective on the criminal justice system.
Aggressive prosecution and strong sentencing advocacy are at the center of most US Attorney decisions. Federal judges have the sole authority to administer fair and consistent criminal sentences.