William Davis, who served on a capital jury that voted for a life sentence, said he did not see the point of the exercise after a judge dismissed the jury's unanimous recommendation as "not helpful".
Perhaps it is the constitution, the foundational document of a legal system, which establishes a legislature entitled to enact procedural and substantive rules governing court decisions and specifies who can exercise the power of a judge and under what circumstances.
The next day, exercising his independent authority, a judge threw out the arrest warrant for those accused.
"Whilst it has to be better for divorcing couples to have clarity and accessibility to the law, it is doubtful whether a one size fits all approach is fairer than the current situation where a judge exercises a wide discretion to provide a tailor made solution".
Firstly, it concentrates the substance of the law in the hands of judges as, in consequence, there is a presumption that only a judge exercising ijtihad, rather than a king or a parliament, can determine God's law.
He said that it was one thing for a judge to exercise discretion within the statutory range for the offense as set by the legislature.
These, as their name suggests, provide an opportunity for a judge to exercise control over the nature and extent of the cross examination of witnesses and victims in sensitive cases.
We assign blame and responsibility differently when we think that a bad decision was mandated by the sources than we do when we think that it flowed from a judge's exercise of moral or political judgement.
"Under the sentencing guidelines scheme now in vogue, a judge can exercise little, if any, judgment on these matters," wrote an appellate judge reviewing Mosby's case.
"The Hammonds join... countless other individuals who were denied the opportunity for a judge to exercise appropriate judgment in imposing a rational sentence," said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va)., a staunch opponent of mandatory minimums, in a statement on Tuesday.
