Judge Cites Tough ‘New Era’ in Conflicts Cases as She Sentences Ex-DOJ Lawyer

Former Justice Department lawyer Robert Coughlin cried in court Tuesday as he apologized to a judge for accepting gifts from a lobbyist friend while working on legislative affairs in the Justice Department.

Coughlin could have been sentenced to six months in jail. Instead he was sentenced to a month in a halfway house and three years’ of probation, and fined $2,000, according to the Associated Press and Main Justice.

Coughlin had pleaded guilty to felony conflict of interest for accepting meals and tickets to sports events and concerts from from Greenberg Traurig lobbyist Kevin Ring. A mistrial was declared in Ring’s case after a jury deadlocked last month.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle presided over Ring’s case and Coughlin’s sentencing, the Times says. ''This entire Abramoff-related matter raises a lot of questions,'' Huvelle said before sentencing Coughlin. ''None of them are bad people. I wouldn't say that.''

Huvelle said actions that might have merited a misdemeanor conviction years ago are now being taken more seriously. ''Times have changed,'' she said. ''We're in a new era.”