No Deal: Judge Rejects 18-month Sentence For Ex-judge Cook
From the Belleville News-Democrat
It's back to the drawing board for former St. Clair County Circuit judge Michael Cook after a federal judge rejected a plea bargain that would have sent Cook to prison for 18 months on heroin possession and weapons charges.
U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade rejected the plea agreement during a hearing in federal court on Wednesday.
"I can't accept the contemplated 18 months as serving the purposes of sentencing," McDade said. "The facts set forth in the pre-sentencing report and that are unobjected to would support a higher sentence."
A new sentencing hearing will be held in 30 days, McDade said. Cook must decide within 21 days whether to withdraw his guilty plea or advise McDade that he made a new deal with federal prosecutors.
The sentence should balance being fair to Cook and the public, McDade said.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Belleville News-Democrat
It's back to the drawing board for former St. Clair County Circuit judge Michael Cook after a federal judge rejected a plea bargain that would have sent Cook to prison for 18 months on heroin possession and weapons charges.
U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade rejected the plea agreement during a hearing in federal court on Wednesday.
"I can't accept the contemplated 18 months as serving the purposes of sentencing," McDade said. "The facts set forth in the pre-sentencing report and that are unobjected to would support a higher sentence."
A new sentencing hearing will be held in 30 days, McDade said. Cook must decide within 21 days whether to withdraw his guilty plea or advise McDade that he made a new deal with federal prosecutors.
The sentence should balance being fair to Cook and the public, McDade said.
Read more in our daily News Update...