Bye, Bernie

About 5 minutes ago, the sentencing hearing for Bernie Madoff was  slated to begin.  One of the two sentencing requests that have been submitted to Judge Denny Chin is certain to prove to be wildly at odds with the actual term meted out.  The defense requested 12 years, the government has asked for the statutory max of 150.  The WSJ Law Blog has a handy summary of all the issues connected with the sentencing. 

 Judge Chin has an interesting hobby—one that may even inform his decision-making process when, as this morning, he is faced with an ‘historic’ judicial question.   Judge Chin is a member of the Inn of Court, a group of lawyers and judges who reenact historic trials. Judge Chin even distilled the original transcripts of the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg into a one-hour play.  Listen to this excellent  Radio360 segment on the judge, his play, and whether “in a time of national crisis, the ‘arc of justice’ bends.”

.                                       -posted by brian

UPDATE:  Chin throws book: it's 150.  Details here.