At their judicial conference Tuesday, 9th Circuit Judges blasted the Feeney Amendment included in the PROTECT Act that limits judicial discretion in sentencing:

The opposition was voiced during a two-day meeting of the 15 chief district judges of the U.S. 9th Circuit that concluded here Tuesday. Judge John Coughenour of Seattle said the group had ``virtual unanimity'' in its disdain for the law, which compels judges to strictly follow sentencing guidelines and orders that reports be sent to Congress on anyone who deviates from them.

The change, which was supported by Attorney General John Ashcroft, was part of an anti-crime bill signed by President Bush last year. The Justice Department made no attempt to consult with judges, Coughenour said, and ignored a commission created by Congress to make sentencing recommendations.

....The 9th Circuit includes federal courts in Hawaii, Arizona, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, as well as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The PROTECT act is bad and needs to be repealed. Ashcroft needs to go. Boot Bush.