Osler's Razor

On Thursday night, I went out to Arizona State to speak on a panel about the First Step Act, the 2018 law that enacted some modest prison and sentencing reforms. The legislation is often touted as a victory of bipartisan collaboration, which it was-- it ended up being supported by Bernie Sanders and Mike Lee, among a broad array of Senators.

 But something else was going on, too, which is too rarely recognized. It mattered who supported it, but absent their usual voice was the institutional opponent of reform, the Department of Justice. Usually, the DOJ reflexively opposes anything that hints of change that might favor defendants or take away any bit of power from the Department. (Rachel Barkow and I analyzed that dynamic here, if you are interested).

 What happened, in short, is that the President of the United States was at war with his own Attorney General (who heads the Department of Justice). Donald Trump was furious that AG Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation of Robert Mueller, and the two men weren't speaking to each other. Usually, the DOJ is the sole advisor to the President on matters of criminal law, but for that period in 2018 that advisor was absent. I actually went  to a meeting at the White House on criminal law a few months before the First Step Act was signed, and was shocked that among the 20 or so people in attendance, no one was there from the DOJ. 

 But... we're all like that, aren't we?

 So many times I have seen a person flourish once the negative person in their life is gone, a kid transformed in the absence of a bully.

 I wonder, sometimes, if I have been that negative force. If I have, my faith compels that I stop. 

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM