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Will AG Holder change DOJ sentencing practicies that seem inconsistent with "the rule of law, equality before the law, and the applicability of Due Process"?

By Douglas A. Berman

As detailed in this post at The BLT, Attorney General Eric Holder was officially installed in his position just this past Friday in a formal ceremony in which he gave this speech.  Though many might view AG Holder's speech as filled with "rah-rah" Justice Department boiler-plate, this paragraph stood out to me: Ours is a nation of laws, guided by principles that reflect the essential goodness of the American people. Many of these values ? adherence to the rule of law, equality before the law, and the applicability of Due Process ? are as well-known as they are timeless.  And yet, these principles can only truly be the animating force of our legal system if we, both individually and collectively, make it so. That is why, Mr. President, I pledge to you, to my fellow Department of Justice employees, and to the American people as a whole that I will lead a Department of Justice that is firmly rooted in, and solely guided by, these sacred principles...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on March 29, 2009 (boomark / email).