LETTERS: JUDGE MUST WEIGH MANY FACTORS

To the editor:

I am writing in response to prosecuting attorney Morley Swingle's recent diatribe featured on your front page Jan. 27. Let me first say that Mr. Swingle's tone and choice of forum for his criticism of Judge Grimm were completely inappropriate.

I have practiced in front of Judge Grimm as a criminal defense attorney. Throughout these cases, there have been times when his sentences have been tougher and stiffer than I had hoped for. But I have always found Judge Grimm to be among the more honorable and professional judges in Southeast Missouri. Perhaps his greatest virtue is the grave seriousness with which he addresses the decisions he makes. No one can deny that whatever decision that John Grimm makes in a case, he has thought it through.

The judge is the final arbiter in our judicial system. That makes his job perhaps more difficult. The prosecuting attorney and the defense attorney have the luxury of only having to worry about fighting for their respective positions full speed ahead. The judge must find a middle ground between these extremes that is as close to justice as possible. This is not easy. The judge is not a rubber stamp to either side. He is truly the only objective element in the process.

It appears from your article that Mr. Swingle objects to Judge Grimm not rubber stamping his wishes. Mr. Swingle's quote is telling: "Prosecutors and the police can only be as tough as the sentencing judges." The point Mr. Swingle misses is that the judge is not on his team. The judge is on neither team. Because Mr. Swingle says that a 17-year-old first-time offender should spend his next 20 years in prison does not make that the just result.

Mr. Swingle sees things in black and white. This is evidenced by his quote: "If Mother Teresa had a momentary lapse and committed armed robbery, she should go to prison." Of, if only things were that simple. Judge Grimm was correct to point out that a great many things go into the decision of what a just sentence is: the defendant's prior record, his youth, his mental health, his state of mind, his remorse, the chances of his doing it again, the victim's wishes, whether he was an accomplice. These are just a few of the things that the judge must weigh.

It is also interesting to note that one of Mr. Swingle's assistants was recently quoted in your paper referring to a jury who ruled against him as irresponsible and clueless. Apparently Mr. Swingle and his assistants know best. Judge Grimm is wrong when he rules against them. Twelve citizens of Southeast Missouri are irresponsible and clueless when they dare to rule against them.

Mr. Swingle is very effective at his job. However, it appears that he would prefer to be not only prosecutor, but judge and jury as well. Thank goodness our Founding Fathers knew better.

Judge Grimm is an excellent judge. The citizens of Cape Girardeau are excellent jurors. And, quite frankly, Mr. Swingle is an excellent prosecuting attorney. However, Mr. Swingle needs to show considerably more respect for the job that the judges and juries of Cape Girardeau are doing. While he is doing very well in his job, he would be better served letting them do theirs.

PAT McMENAMIN, Attorney at Law

Cape Girardeau