Not so long ago, there was a federal judge who was known for handing down harsh sentences. So, one might ask, what kind of sentence might he impose on a defendant who pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with crimes that included buying and using drugs, having loaded guns in his car and stealing government property?
How about 30 days in jail, followed by community service?
Oh, wait! The defendant in this case is (or was) the judge, Jack T. Camp, a law-and-order kind of guy who was once the chief judge for the Northern District of Georgia. Â And 30 days, plus 400 hours of community service, is just what he got for the above-mentioned wrongdoing, which was also spiced by His Honor’s frolicking with a stripper during his adventures.
When Camp was sentenced a few weeks back (see Main Justice’s report), the sentencing judge said Camp had “disgraced his office.” No argument there. Ah, but the defense lawyers said Camp, 67, was a tragic figure, overwhelmed by personal hardships and illnesses. He’s suffered enough from his humiliation and professional ruin, which undid years of distinguished service, the defense argued.
How Camp went from admitted felon facing several years in prison to a defendant who will be out of jail before summer after being sentenced on a misdemeanor charge is the subject of an exhaustive report by R. Robin McDonald and Janet L. Conley on Law.Com’s Daily Report. The report is so detailed that it’s hard to summarize it, but it seems that the defense lawyers did their jobs a bit better than the prosecutors from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section. Well, maybe a lot better.
Arthur W. Leach, a former federal prosecutor in Alpharetta, Ga., who now does defense work, called the conversion of Camp’s pleaded felony to a misdemeanor “absolutely amazing,” according to the account by McDonald and Conley. It creates “the perception that because [Camp] was a district court judge, he was treated differently,” Leach said.
Steven H. Sadow, an Atlanta criminal defense lawyer, told the reporters, “The consensus among criminal defense attorneys in this district is please bring in a prosecutor from Washington whenever we have a case.”
The reporters said the Department of Justice declined to comment.
Of course, the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor can be important. Having pleaded guilty to only a misdemeanor, he won’t forfeit all the civil rights he would have as a felon. He may even be able to carry a gun again someday. (There’s a scary thought.)
David – you seem to be intentionally leaving out the fact that this case was led by PIS prosecutors from DC. Don’t you see a pattern here of being “outlawyered” across multiple cases and jurisdictions? Is anyone surprised that DOJ had no comment?
From the Law.com article:
The government was “outlawyered,” defense attorney Wilmer “Buddy” Parker, another former federal prosecutor in Atlanta, concluded.
Lead prosecutor Deborah Sue Mayer from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section in Washington declined to comment, and the DOJ declined to answer written questions.