Rand Paul's Attacker Won't Have Such a Lenient Sentence After All

Federal Court Orders Resentencing For Rand Paul's Attacker

"A federal appeals court ruled that the sentence given to the man who assaulted Sen. Rand Paul in 2017, leaving the lawmaker with six broken ribs and ongoing health complications, was too lenient.

Paul was attacked from behind by his neighbor, Rene Boucher, over a disagreement about the way Paul took care of his lawn. Boucher charged him running full speed 60 yards downhill “and hurled himself headfirst into Paul’s lower back,” according to the court. Paul was seriously injured and suffered with ongoing “intense pain” as a result of them. Last month, he had to have surgery to remove part of his lung, which stemmed from injuries sustained during the 2017 attack.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Boucher's original sentence of 30 days in jail and a $10,000 fee because they fell well below sentencing guidelines for the crime.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, noted that the guidelines call for 21 to 27 months for the federal crime of assaulting a member of Congress and that Paul’s injuries, including six broken ribs, were serious. Prosecutors had asked for a 21-month sentence.

It’s unusual for an appeals court to tamper with the sentence meted out by a trial judge, in this instance, U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani, brought in from Michigan for the case. But the court suggested that the assailant, Rene A. Boucher, an affluent physician like Paul, had gotten special treatment because of his social status.

Judge Jane B. Stranch, writing for the panel, noted that the sentencing judge had justified the punishment in part on Boucher being an “educated person,” with no criminal history, respected in the community and at church, and the father of two children “doing very well.”

“To prioritize a defendant’s education, professional success, and standing in the community” gives a “leg up to defendants who are already in a privileged position,” Stranch wrote. “Indigent defendants are less likely to impress a sentencing court with their education, employment record, or local reputation.” (WaPo)

The panel concluded there was “no compelling justification for Boucher’s well-below-Guidelines sentence” from the Clinton-appointed judge and ordered the district court to resentence Boucher based on the ruling."

 

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"President Trump's work on judicial appointments may be what eventually secures justice for Rand Paul...."

"...Boucher is a liberal who despised Rand for being guilty of the greatest of all possible crimes — chief among them, judging from the Democrat primary, the only one that appears to be relevant in the liberal mind: the crime of being a Republican.

At least in this case, it appears that Boucher's Democrat privilege might be revoked...."

"...It is worth examining this story within the current climate that no longer affords equal justice under the law. Republicans are regularly hammered for minor or trumped up offenses (à la Lieutenant General Michael Flynn), while liberals can quite brazenly plan an administrative coup against a duly elected president without any perpetrator serving jail time, at least not yet. It is fairly obvious to anyone paying attention that we have lost that vital principle of equal justice under the law.

This dynamic is a primary reason why industry and community leaders routinely and aggressively virtue-signal in support of the full liberal laundry list, from abortion on demand to homilies on the global warming cult. It buys them protection, akin to a payoff to a mob boss. If you are going to be a criminal, it quite literally pays to be an outspoken liberal, or at least to pretend to be one. That message has been received loud and clear.

One of the most important steps in reversing this trend is removing the extreme liberal activist bent of the courts. Nothing President Trump has done has been more important than appointing fair-minded and Constitution-respecting judges across the Judiciary. These judges are much more likely to enforce equal justice under the law.

Five of the judges on the Sixth Court of Appeals, the court that voided the Boucher sentence, were appointed by Trump, although in fairness, it was a President Obama–appointed judge who wrote the decision on behalf of the panel of three who heard the case. The Senate has already confirmed 146 judges whom this president has nominated. Another 41 are awaiting Senate action, with plenty more vacancies to be filled. The president, in partnership with Senate Republicans, has already reversed much of the damage Obama did to the Judiciary.

This is where President Trump is making the most lasting impact and where he may quite literally be saving America. At the very least, he has bought the country time to recover. …"

"...This week, a federal appeals court struck a blow for justice. Let's hope that will start a long judicial trend toward reversing the damage done to justice in America."

Grievously Injured Rand Paul Gets a Second Chance at Justice