In the latest rebuke of U.S. District Judge Manuel Real, the Ninth Circuit has again reversed a sentence by the judge viewed as too lenient and too little justified — in this case, the sentencing of ex-producer Jospeh Medawar.
The unanimous decision noted that the Real’s sentence of only a year and a day was less than not only the request of the prosecutors but less than the recommendation of the defense. The main problem was the failure to justify the lower sentence. The panel noted the absence of any “significant justification” for imposing a sentence far below the range of 57 to 71 months set under the federal guidelines. In 2007, Real was the subject of a rare reprimand for his “pattern and practice of not providing reasons for his decisions when required to do so.”
Medawar falsely claimed that he had the endorsement of President Bush and the Department of Homeland Security for a movie on the DHS. He raised much of the money from local churches.
The money was used to support Medawar and his longtime associate, Alison Heruth-Waterbury in their renting of a $40,000 per month ($6.6 million) mansion in Beverly Hills and the purchase of a fleet of luxury cars and other high-life items. Click here.
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