Today, Jim Walden co-chairs the White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group at Gibson Dunn, and has a stellar record for achieving positive results for his clients. Prior to his current position he served as a federal prosecutor for nearly nine years, and was responsible for the convictions of over 100 individuals involved in organized crime activities, as well for many other notable convictions. His success in his field led to him being recognized as the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation’s "Prosecutor of the Year." Author Michele R. McPhee writes in her book A Mob Story, that Walden was nicknamed “The Pit Bull” by his investigative team for his relentless campaign for justice. Perhaps that is one reason Walden is voicing his opinion that the mandatory minimum sentencing laws are being used in an unjust way, and not as they were originally intended.
In a National Law Journal article this month, Walden, who claims to be “a hawk” in his support for the war on drugs, states that the mandatory minimum sentencing laws, designed to insure that drug kingpins and leaders of organized crime organizations receive harsh sentences, are being used against low-level street dealers, who often sell drugs to support their drug habits. And while small time drug dealers comprise individuals of all races, Walden tells the National Law Journal, “…the "war" has had a profound effect on young black and Hispanic men, who are sentenced to mandatory-minimum terms at disproportionate rates.”
Walden also commented on how Federal Judge John Gleeson, who presides over the Eastern District of New York, is urging U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. to “reform DOJ's inconsistent and irrational use of mandatory-minimum sentences in drug cases, reserving them for drug kingpins,” something that Families Against Mandatory Minimums, and countless others, have been advocating for years.
Walden’s appeal for sentencing reform comes at a time when the federal government, in an effort to reduce the nation’s crushing budget deficit, is looking for ways to reduce the federal prison population. Holder’s office has been examining the hugely disparate racial make-up of America’s prison system. Perhaps these two issues might be the catalyst that propels the Attorney General to make sure that the mandatory minimum sentencing laws be restored to their original intention-against dangerous kingpins, and not against minor drug law offenders.
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