Should Childs Sup Ct Candidacy Get Smoked 4 Pot Case?

Some progressives are wary of Biden possibly nominating DC’s Judge Childs to US Sup Ct because of a harsh pot sentence; maybe that decision more than a decade ago was a clunker, maybe not; but if one clunker is the new “zero tolerance” standard for a nominee, we’ll never refill a vacated post.

The back story: A 2009 sentence handed down by Biden short-listee, J. Michelle Childs, sent a man to prison for 12 years when a state trial judge in South Carolina. The repeat offender had pled guilty to a host of violations, including a nonviolent marijuana charge involving a half pound of the stuff after attempting to make a sale to an undercover cop. He apparently thought he’d get 5 years in jail for the “package” counts, but the prosecution was tired of letting him off on a lighter sentence and asked for more. Judge Childs agreed with the prosecutors.

As the convicted man argued, some murderers get lighter sentences. “Outrageous,” liberal commentator Krystal Ball tweeted. The hits keep coming,” added progressive Dem Senate candidate in Wisconsin Tom Nelson. Yet, was the sentence for a repeat offender so beyond the pale? As the WH noted this was ONE case among thousands decided by Judge Childs, who has a long history of “honorable” service and “unwavering commitment to justice” as a federal judge since President Obama chose her in 2010 and, then, Mr. Biden nominated her for the DC Circuit Court. Judge Childs under the Senate’s microscope might yet be found wanting for some profound misdemeanor; but she surely would not be disqualified for this single, arguably justified if controversial, case over a decade old.

Davd Soul