 January
14, 2007 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Column: In The Costly War On Drugs, Who's To Say What Is
Right?
By Bill McClellan
Circuit Court Judge Julian Bush seems like a low-key fellow.
He is a slight and studious-looking. He is an 11-year veteran
of the bench.
Last month, he sentenced Eddie Woodfin, a career criminal
who had been convicted of possession of crack cocaine. Woodfin
is a tall, husky fellow with long hair. He looks younger than
his 48 years.
He has been in enough trouble that there is some dispute about
how much trouble he's been in. One official in the court system
told me Woodfin had eight felony convictions for stealing. His
attorney said he had 16.
At any rate, the Missouri Department of Corrections reports
that Woodfin has done a couple of stretches in prison for stealing,
and at the time of his sentencing, he was on probation in St.
Louis County for stealing.
Admittedly, stealing has a certain built-in momentum. If you're
a neophyte, you have to steal $750 worth of something to qualify
for a felony charge. But after two convictions, all subsequent
cases count as felonies. Steal a pack of cigarettes? A felony.
But while the record might indicate that Woodfin is a thief,
he told Bush that stealing is only a symptom of his problem.
He said that his real problem is drug addiction.
So maybe there was some kind of weird karma thing going on
in January 2004 when St. Louis police thought they were getting
him for stealing but ended up getting him for drugs. Police found
him in a car that had been reported stolen.
It turned out the car belonged to his stepson, so no charges
were issued in connection with the car. But police claimed that
Woodfin was in possession of a small amount of crack cocaine
and a crack pipe. He was charged with felony possession of a
controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, a
misdemeanor.
The case slowly bumped through the system. According to his
attorney, John Gourley, the state offered Woodfin a 10-year sentence.
Because of his extensive record, he would have had to do a big
chunk of that. He opted to go to trial. The first trial ended
in a hung jury. In October '06, there was a second trial. Woodfin
was convicted. Bush ordered a pre-sentence report.
The probation officer who wrote the report recommended against
probation, and wrote that the presumptive sentence, according
to the guidelines, would be 10 years. Mitigating factors might
take it down to eight and aggravating factors might push it to
12.
At the sentencing last month, Bush asked the prosecutor whether
her office had a recommendation. Because of his record as a persistent
offender, our recommendation is 15 years, she said.
Bush asked Gourley whether the defense had a recommendation.
Twelve years sounds appropriate, Gourley said. (He told me that
if Woodfin's probation in the county were revoked, which the
lawyer expected to happen, the result would be a 12-year sentence,
so as long as this sentence didn't exceed 12 years, his client
would lose nothing.)
Bush asked Woodfin a few questions. How long had he been locked
up on this charge? Most of the time since he'd been arrested,
he said. About 30 months. What did Woodfin want to do with his
life? "Hopefully, I'd like to turn my life around,"
he said. Did he use crack while he was in jail? "No sir.
I've been clean for the last 30 months."
Bush then sentenced Woodfin to seven days on the felony and
one day on the misdemeanor.
Yikes. The state wanted 15 years and the defense thought 12
years would be fine. Bear in mind, too, that Woodfin had already
done approximately two-and-a-half years. Bush could have sentenced
him to two years and it would have accomplished the same thing.
Time served. Seven days seemed so outrageous that it must have
been a message.
It almost seems like judicial nullification, I said when I
talked to him this past week. It's as if you're disregarding
the law.
Not at all, he replied. The Legislature says an appropriate
sentence is one day to 15 years. I was within that range, he
said.
It seems like you lack a certain enthusiasm for the war on
drugs, I said.
I do lack enthusiasm for the war on drugs, he said.
I asked about legalization. He shrugged. "Monday, Wednesday
and Friday I think they should be legalized. Tuesdays and Thursdays
I think they should be illegal. I don't like drugs. I strongly
disapprove of them. The costs are great. But it's expensive to
incarcerate somebody. The costs are enormous either way. I don't
know what's right."
I stopped by the circuit attorney's office. Jennifer Joyce
was out. I spoke with Shirley Rogers, the chief trial assistant.
"I have the utmost respect for Julian Bush," she
said. "He knows the law. He's diligent. Sentencing is totally
within the judge's discretion. Obviously, we disagree with this
one, but Judge Bush is very fair. He listens to both sides. He
takes this very seriously."
Woodfin remains in the City Justice Center. He is being held
on a stealing charge. Court records indicate that his probation
in St. Louis County was suspended after his arrest and then reinstated
in October.
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