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NEWS FEBRUARY 24, 2020 ¦ 17

as I was directed to, the interests that society sought hundreds of American judges who sit on criminal
to protect, then I applied that evenhandedly to all cases were polled as to what was the most trying
cases.” [Confirmation hearing, 2009] facet of their jobs, the vast majority would almost
certainly answer ‘sentencing.’ In no other judicial
>>U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall of the function is the judge more alone; no other act of his
Southern District of Georgia: “Sentencing is the carries greater potentialities for good or evil than
most difficult part of the job. The power to direct our the determination of how society will treat its trans-
nation’s government to take away a person’s liberty gressors.” [The Atlantic]
is a heavy burden. I never lose sight of the impact of ¦

incarceration on a defendant’s spouse, partner, chil- Mike Scarcella is a senior editor in Washington
dren, parents and other loved ones.” [Daily Report on ALM Media’s regulatory desk. Contact him at
Online] [email protected]. On Twitter: @MikeScarcel-

la. Mike works on a slate of newsletters: Supreme

>> The late Judge Irving Kaufman of the U.S. Court Brief | Higher Law | Compliance Hot
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: “If the Spots | Labor of Law.

Morale Low at Department of Justice Under
William Barr’s Leadership, Ex-Staffers Say

By Robert Storace
Connecticut residents who were among former
Department of Justice employees demand-
ing the resignation of U.S. Attorney General
William Barr say morale has waned at the federal
agency.
The Connecticut signatories were among more
than 2,000 ex-Justice Department employees who
signed a letter demanding Barr’s ouster over the
sentencing of Roger Stone, a political consultant
who worked on President Donald Trump’s election
campaign. They left the DOJ before Barr headed the
agency, but have maintained contact with former
colleagues.
“I’d say the mood there is really low,” said Asha
Rangappa, a senior lecturer at the Jackson Institute Attorney General William Barr.

for Global Affairs and a former FBI special agent who Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

served in the Justice Department from 2002 to 2005. “I don’t recall, in my lifetime, there being this much
“It’s very disheartening. I think there is probably of a groundswell of a movement for an attorney
some soul-searching on whether or not they should general to resign,” she said.
themselves resign, or whether it’s better to stay.” No one from the U.S. Department of Justice’s office
Rangappa, now a CNN commentator, was among of public affairs responded to a request for comment
the letter’s thousands of signatories, including Wednesday.
several attorneys and former prosecutors.
¦ Continued on PAGE 18

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