The following is an edited version of the remarks given by Eastern District Judge Raymond Dearie to the New York Criminal Bar Association on June 13.
We judges make our rulings, write our opinions and generally limit ourselves to the specific issues before us. Yet I must admit that at times I’ve wanted to scream out in frustration, sadness and anger when I have been required to impose a mandatory sentence or have been prevented from doing the sensible thing, particularly during the dark, pre-Booker days of the so-called guidelines. After more than 30 years, I have gathered some thoughts and frustrations, and tonight I get to share some of them with you, to vent perhaps, as I would with anyone who will listen in earnest about the work we do and the much maligned system within which we dedicate our collective efforts. I admit up front that I am likely preaching to the choir, and in many ways my perhaps pie-in-the-sky dreams of a better, more intelligent “system,” inspired by experience and common sense, may seem to many to be just the wishful thinking of an over-the-hill jurist who thinks he knows better.
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