Taking the Fifth » Blog Archive » A DEFENSE ATTORNEY’S RANT: 150 YEARS FOR BERNIE MADOFF?

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A DEFENSE ATTORNEY’S RANT: 150 YEARS FOR BERNIE MADOFF?

Posted on June 30th, 2009 zshapiro No comments

Well they gave Bernie Madoff 150 years. Surprize, Surprize! Really it made no difference. A twenty year sentence or a 150 year sentence. Either one is life. He’s 71. He won’t be running any more Ponzi schemes, unless he does it from inside the prison.

It might have been nice to give him twelve years. That way he would have had some hope of getting out. And with the number of prisoners committing suicide hope is nice.

But the cries for blood from the victims and the media were too great. Perhaps the judge wants to be appointed the the Second Circuit and is afraid of Congressional comments during confirmation. It doesn’t make much difference any sentence is a life sentence.

While we are on the subject what type of defense attorney pleads his or her client to the maximum sentence. I hope it wasn’t that there was no money left for trial. If you take a case you give it your all. You don’t put your interests ahead of those of your client. If your client is going to get the maximum sentence–and truthfully any sentence in this case is a maximum sentence–you go to trial. Who knows what happens at trial. The odds may not be great but any odds are better than pleading to the maximum sentence.

Also, why did they leave his wife 2.5 million? Can’t she live on Social Security or SSI like other people her age?
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