By Roger Shuler March 14, 2012
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Judges-Make-All-the-Differ-by-Roger-Shuler-120314-512.html

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Comparing two criminal trials is tricky because they often come with multiple variables, including different defendants, different prosecutors, different defense lawyers, and different jurors. But the most important difference in the Siegelman and McGregor cases was the most obvious: They had different judges.

Siegelman and Scrushy had the misfortune to draw U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, a George W. Bush appointee who had been on the federal bench for less than four years at the time of trial. McGregor and his codefendants had the good fortune to draw U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, a Jimmy Carter appointee who has served on the bench for almost 32 years.
The experience factor is not the biggest difference between Fuller and Thompson. I have been around judges enough to know that an inexperienced judge can be every bit as fair and competent as a veteran judge. The key factor is not experience, but ethics (and respect for the law). Thompson has a huge edge over Fuller in both of those critical areas--and that's the No. 1 reason McGregor and Co. were acquitted while Siegelman and Scrushy still are battling to overturn their unlawful convictions. .......

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There need to be serious consequences for abuse of power.