The suggestion in the article titled “Harshest Judges? Study Names Jurists Who Allegedly Impose Discriminatory Sentences on Blacks and Hispanics” (published by the Law Journal on Aug. 3), that United States District Judge Stanley Chesler sentences in a racially discriminatory way, on the basis of data that even the authors of the study acknowledge is incomplete in multiple ways, is irresponsible and reprehensible. It is also just wrong.

I have been the Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey for 24 years, and the purportedly reliable statistical study which provides the basis for this article stands in stark contrast to what I know to be true—he is fair, honest and treats everyone who comes before him with integrity and dignity. That is not to say that I or other defense lawyers always agree with his sentences or that he isn’t sometimes tougher than we would like, but he is impartial and fair and has never to my knowledge acted in a way that suggests racial or other discriminatory intent. He is a man who honestly tries to understand the person who stands before him for sentencing and is determined to get it right without regard to race, creed, sex, or any other characteristic.

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