Judges could get freer hand in drug cases: Bill targets mandatory sentences for dealers

DOVER -- Judges would be freed from handing down a legislatively mandated minimum sentence for drug dealers under a bill introduced Thursday.

Rep. Joe Di Pinto, R-Wilmington West, thinks the state should take a serious look at doing away with the law, first passed as part of a sentencing reform movement during the 1980s.

"The time is right to hold a discussion on this issue," Di Pinto said. "We need to look at the facts, but it could be time for a change."

If Di Pinto's bill became law, judges would still have to follow state sentencing guidelines and Delaware's "Truth in Sentencing" law, but it would give judges greater flexibility than they now possess.

But Attorney General M. Jane Brady and Correction Commissioner Stan Taylor said lawmakers should take a careful look before wiping out minimum mandatory sentences for drug offenses.

In 2003, the state enacted a law lowering those sentences and increasing the amount of drugs needed to fall under the minimum mandatory law. Brady said that law has lowered the numbers of drug offenders going to prison, but she is opposed to eliminating the law altogether.

"If people say this is a 'non-violent offense,' I'd invite them to go into the neighborhoods where there are drug dealers hanging out on the street corners and look at the results, this is not a nonviolent offense," Brady said. "Two years ago, we thought we had a compromise that addressed concerns about this. ... This is a law that gives

people confidence that those who break the law are being held accountable and we should not get rid of it."

Taylor said the state should study the full effects of the 2003 law before embarking on new changes. "You shouldn't go hop-scotching around with the sentencing system," he said. "We need to see what this is doing before we do more."

The bill is backed by Stand Up for What's Right and Just, a 3,000-member group dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system. Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, an MBNA executive, is a member.

Sen. James T. Vaughn, D-Clayton, said he doesn't like the idea, but wouldn't rule out supporting the bill. He has asked the Sentencing Accountability Commission and the state's Statistical Analysis Center for data on the bill's potential effects.

House Speaker Terry Spence, R-Stratford, said he too wants to see more data before voting. He said he has asked Di Pinto to remove his name as co-sponsor of the bill until he has that data in hand.

But other lawmakers say it's time to give sentencing power back to judges.

"We have one of the most respected judiciaries in the country," said Senate Majority Leader Harris B. McDowell III, D-Wilmington North. "These aren't a bunch of wild-eyed judges who are running amok, turning dangerous criminals loose on the streets. It's high time we let the judges impose sentences that fit the crimes."