and that, if anything, judges appointed by Republicans are harsher.
? I’m skimming the article but these passages seem to suggest the opposite:
Judges appointed by Trump have issued lesser sentences than prosecutors wanted at only a slightly higher rate than Obama appointees. Out of 173 cases, Trump appointees gave lighter sentences than the government requested in 156. Trump appointees agreed to the sentences recommended by prosecutors in 16 cases, while issuing a harsher sentence in one.
By contrast, judges appointed by President Bill Clinton have meted out the harshest sentences, yet they have still been more lenient than prosecutors recommended slightly more than half the time. George W. Bush appointed judges have issued lesser sentences than prosecutors sought in 50 out of 54 cases, or 92 percent, while judges appointed by Ronald Reagan issued more lenient sentences in 42 out of 68 cases, or 61 percent.
The most lenient individual judge handling January 6 cases was not appointed by Trump or Biden, but by George W. Bush. Judge John Bates, now on “senior” or semi-retired status, issued sentences more lenient than prosecutors sought in all 28 of the January 6 cases he handled, often turning down requests for prison time and letting defendants walk free.
The last point about GW Bush supports that Republicans were harsher. Regardless, I think I misread something, because I don’t see the sentence I thought I read earlier. However, the rates are close, and there’s no strong relationship between leniency and party affiliation of the president who appointed the judge. The authors unfortunately don’t summarize how much more lenient or compare the rates to similar sorts of cases unrelated to Jan 6.
? I’m skimming the article but these passages seem to suggest the opposite:
The last point about GW Bush supports that Republicans were harsher. Regardless, I think I misread something, because I don’t see the sentence I thought I read earlier. However, the rates are close, and there’s no strong relationship between leniency and party affiliation of the president who appointed the judge. The authors unfortunately don’t summarize how much more lenient or compare the rates to similar sorts of cases unrelated to Jan 6.