Washington ? How powerful is a judge?

For example, what happens when a judge rules as inadmissible certain critical documents in a criminal case? What happens when that judge refuses to allow critical, exonerating testimony to be heard? What happens when that judge allows testimony that is not germane to the issue, but is prejudicial to the defendant? The defendant will be found guilty by a jury.

What is not generally known is what happens next. Federal sentencing guidelines require the judge to order the convicted defendant to be incarcerated for a specified range, such as 44 to 56 months.

But what if the defendant is innocent? He will often hire new and expensive counsel to appeal the case. Typically, this requires a retainer of about $50,000. That counsel will ask the judge to allow the defendant out on bail until the appeal is heard. If the case involves an alleged non-violent crime, the request is especially reasonable. But the judge has discretion to turn the request down. And let us assume that he does.

What now for the defendant? He goes to jail. Because he was convicted of a non-violent crime, he will probably go to one of the so-called Club Fed, minimum-security institutions that are devoid of fences and guards. But before he gets there, he will spend up to 30 days in a local jail while the paperwork is being handled.

And what will that temporary incarceration mean? It can mean sharing a cell with a barely sane convicted murderer who looks like a heavyweight boxer. It means being locked up with him for 22 hours at a time.

Then the defendant moves on to Club Fed where he will await the outcome of the appeal, an outcome that is not likely to be heard for nine to 12 months. At the end of that time, the defendant will be out $50,000 or more of money he probably borrowed, and he will have lost a year of his life. If the appeal is successful, the government cannot give him back his year, and it will not give him back his money.

The case just described is real. We occasionally receive calls and letters from people who believe they or their loved ones have suffered injustice at the hands of the system. Usually, we are provided with one-sided materials, but for the case outlined here, we received transcripts. We were stunned.

When the judge bangs down the gavel, society tends to move on. Justice is due; justice is received. The system works. But does it? Judges are given immense power over individuals. With the bang of a gavel they can take away freedom, reputation and life savings. They can destroy individuals and families. No one person should have such power because all of us are fallible. And juries are rarely a counterweight because they can only rule on what the judge allows them to see and hear.

Prediction: Mandatory sentencing will be abolished and guilty verdicts in criminal cases will automatically be reviewed by a three-judge panel. Regrettably, this is more a hope than a prediction.