Court Says Solo Lawyer’s Lack of Contrition Justified Higher Sentence

A New Jersey solo practitioner who tried to shift blame to a co-defendant for filing false immigration forms was properly sentenced to more prison time than called for in a plea bargain, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Jonathan Saint Preux, a former lawyer who practiced in Irvington, N.J., was sentenced to 57 months in jail, 11 months more than called for in a plea deal. The federal judge who sentenced Saint Preux found he wasn’t entitled to a reduced sentence because of statements Preux had made to the probation office shifting blame and criticizing the government prosecution, the New Jersey Law Journal reports.

The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judge's decision.

Preux pleaded guilty in an alleged scheme to file documents falsely claiming that aliens had met guidelines in a government amnesty program, according to the story.

A failure to appear contrite also caused trouble for two former Luzerne County, Pa., judges who pleaded guilty in an alleged scheme to accept kickbacks for referrals to juvenile facilities. Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Michael Conahan withdrew their pleas after a federal judge rejected their deal with prosecutors because of statements they made that evaded responsibility for the crimes.