New federal judge in Iowa accused of acting as "prosecutor-in-chief" at sentencing

The Des Moines Register has this notable new article discussing some unseemly sentencing-related conduct by a new federal judge (and former federal prosecutor) in Iowa.  Here are the basics:

One of Iowa’s most prominent federal judges is accused of improperly playing the role of “prosecutor-in-chief” in criminal cases by ordering the U.S. Attorney’s Office to provide evidence that can result in longer prison sentences, court records show.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Rose has complained to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa Nicholas Klinefeldt that his prosecutors aren’t providing her with information that can be used to extend prison sentences, according to a Des Moines Register review of emails that are part of a court case and were recently unsealed.

Court transcripts show Rose, a former prosecutor who is now in her first year on the bench, has clashed with prosecutors over that issue in at least three criminal cases this year.

In a case involving convicted drug dealer Bryan Holm, Rose ordered prosecutors to provide evidence that could extend Holm’s prison sentence on a weapons charge. When they refused, citing a plea agreement they had signed, Rose called a police officer to the stand, questioned the officer herself and imposed a sentence that was two to three years longer than what prosecutors had contemplated.

Rose then sent prosecutors an email comparing herself to the comic book superhero the Hulk, saying there was “a lesson” there for attorneys: “You won’t like me when I’m angry.”

Holm’s attorney, Dean Stowers, says in court papers his client was “caught in the crossfire” between Rose and federal prosecutors who refused to do her bidding. Stowers, who is appealing Holm’s sentence, says the Hulk email “tends to support the view that there is a price to be paid” if prosecutors don’t take her advice.

“Any defendant, including Mr. Holm, would be particularly alarmed by such judicial advocacy in seeking to enhance his sentence,” Stowers wrote in court filings. “Most defendants have a hard enough time defending against the prosecuting attorney. … They at least should expect the judge will not be assuming the role of prosecutor-in-chief,” he wrote.

Rose, who at 40 is the nation’s youngest federal judge, declined to comment on the matter, as did Stowers and Klinefeldt. But in court papers, Rose has characterized Stowers’ allegations about her conduct as “inaccurate, at best, and deliberately misleading, at worst.” She has also described her emails to prosecutors as “entirely appropriate, generic contact.”

The Code of Conduct for federal judges states that generally a judge should not initiate, permit, or consider “ex parte communications” — that is, communications directed to only one party in a case — except for scheduling, administrative, or emergency purposes, and only if the communication doesn’t address substantive matters. And, according to the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on the Code of Conduct, a judge shouldn’t “provide guidance on the ins-and-outs of practice” before the judge’s court or “provide direct assistance in a given case.”

Rose has served as a U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of Iowa for nine months. She served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa from November 2009 through August 2012. In that role, she was occasionally accused of being too aggressive in the prosecution of some cases, including that of the former plant manager of Agriprocessors in Postville.

The emails from Rose to Klinefeldt, who has been Iowa’s top Southern District prosecutor since 2009, came to light last week.... The emails — signed by “Steph” and addressed to “Nick” — show that in January, Rose wrote to Klinefeldt and said she was “growing increasingly frustrated” with “a few global issues” regarding the way his office conducted business. In her emails, Rose asked Klinefeldt for a meeting. Klinefeldt responded, “Absolutely.”

Most of the issues cited by Rose deal with what she considered minor errors or inconsistencies in the way prosecutors worded various pleadings or briefs. But Rose also questioned the prosecutors’ reluctance to provide information that could be used to lengthen prison sentences. She wrote: “I’m troubled by your office’s occasional refusal to provide relevant discovery information to the United States Probation Office. I’m baffled by similar refusals to provide relevant sentencing information to me.”

Rose specifically cited the prosecutors’ refusal to provide information on the use of a firearm in a recent drug-trafficking case involving Devon Braet — information that could have been used to increase Braet’s sentence. She also cited a case involving John Paul Bowers, who was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. In that case, prosecutors didn’t offer any witnesses or evidence to support a longer sentence based on information that the gun in question was stolen.

At Bowers’ sentencing, Rose expressed frustration with prosecutors, saying, “I need more information from the government on why it’s not producing the witnesses that it’s not producing. ... Frankly, my inclination, if I don’t get any other information, is to vary upward to the maximum (sentence), and I don’t know that that’s fair to Mr. Bowers. ... I’m just completely baffled by the government’s position, frankly.”