Jump to content

John C. Coughenour

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John C. Coughenour
Senior Judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Assumed office
July 27, 2006
Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington
In office
1997–2004
Preceded byCarolyn R. Dimmick
Succeeded byRobert S. Lasnik
Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington
In office
September 28, 1981 – July 27, 2006
Appointed byRonald Reagan
Preceded byMorell Edward Sharp
Succeeded byRichard A. Jones
Personal details
Born
John C. Coughenour

1941 (age 82–83)
Pittsburg,Kansas
EducationPittsburg State University(BS)
University of Iowa(JD)

John C. Coughenour(born 1941) is aseniorUnited States district judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington.[1]Before being appointed as a judge, Coughenour was a leading litigator with Bogle and Gates and has taught trial and appellate practice at theUniversity of Washington School of Law.[2]

Education and career[edit]

Coughenour was born inPittsburg,Kansas.He received aBachelor of Sciencedegree fromKansas State College of Pittsburgin 1963. He received aJuris DoctorfromUniversity of Iowa College of Lawin 1966. Coughenour entered private practice inSeattle,Washingtonin 1966. He was an assistant professor of law at theUniversity of Washingtonfrom 1970 to 1973.[3]

Federal judicial service[edit]

Coughenour was nominated by PresidentRonald Reaganon August 11, 1981, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washingtonvacated by JudgeMorell Edward Sharp.He was confirmed by theUnited States Senateon September 25, 1981, and received commission on September 28, 1981. He served as Chief Judge from 1997 to 2004. He assumedsenior statuson July 27, 2006.[3]

Coughenour testified before theSenate Judiciary Committeeon 7 April 2004 and 4 June 2008.[4][5][6]

Coughenour has opposed federal mandatory minimum sentences for a variety of crimes. He also frequently visited individuals in prison to better understand the system and effects of mandatory minimums.[7]

Notable cases[edit]

Sexual Predator Law[edit]

In 1995 Coughenour found Washington State's Sexually Violent Predator Law to be "criminal in nature".[8] He ruled the lawunconstitutionallyviolated protections againstpost facto lawsanddouble jeopardy.

Amhed Ressam case[edit]

Coughenour was the judge who first sentencedAhmed Ressam,the "millennium bomber", who planned to blow up theLos Angeles International Airporton New Year's Eve 1999.[9]

Coughenour wrote anop-edinThe New York Times,entitled"How to Try a Terrorist",commenting onMichael B. Mukasey's nomination forAttorney General of the United States.[10] Coughenour compared his experience trying Ahmed Ressam withMichael B. Mukasey's trial ofOmar Abdel Rahmanfor his role in the1993 World Trade Center bombing.He noted that Mukasey had complained about "the inadequacy of the current approach to terrorism prosecutions." He noted that Mukasey had complained about the limited number of terrorism convictions.[10] Coughenour paraphrased Mukasey: "Open prosecutions… potentially disclose to our enemies methods and sources of intelligence-gathering. Our Constitution does not adequately protect society from 'people who have cosmic goals that they are intent on achieving by cataclysmic means.'" Coughenour wrote that his experience:[10]"only strengthened my conviction that American courts, guided by the principles of our Constitution, are fully capable of trying suspected terrorists."

Reversal, and remand to different judge

On July 27, 2005, Coughenour sentenced Ressam to 22 years in prison, plus 5 years of supervision after his release.[11]On February 2, 2010, theU.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appealsruled that the 22-year sentence Coughenour had handed down was too lenient, and did not fit in the then-mandatorysentencing guidelineswhich indicated Ressam should have received at least 65 years, and up to 130 years, in prison. The court ordered that Ressam be re-sentenced by a different district court judge than Coughenour.[12]Anen bancpanel of the Ninth Circuit subsequently reconsidered the 2010 opinion. The en banc panel agreed that the 22-year sentence was too lenient, but refused to remand the case to a different judge, instead sending the case back to Judge Coughenour.[13]On remand, Judge Coughenour sentenced Ressam to 37 years imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. The United States did not appeal the sentence.

Jason Scott Case[edit]

In 1995, Coughenour also presided over the civil trial of theJason Scott case,which resulted in damages awarded against theCult Awareness NetworkanddeprogrammerRick Ross.[14]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"'Millennium' terror plotter recants claims against Guantanamo detainee ".International Herald Tribune.January 5, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 6,2007.
  2. ^"John Coughenour".RetrievedOctober 23,2008.
  3. ^ab"Coughenour, John C. - Federal Judicial Center".www.fjc.gov.
  4. ^John C. Coughenour (April 7, 2004)."Testimony of The Honorable John C. Coughenour".United States Senate Judiciary Committee.Archivedfrom the original on September 21, 2008.RetrievedOctober 16,2008.
  5. ^Patrick Leahy(June 4, 2008)."Statement of The Honorable Patrick Leahy".United States Senate Judiciary Committee.Archived fromthe originalon October 14, 2008.RetrievedOctober 16,2008.We also welcome Judge John Coughenour. He is a respected judge who has significant experience with terrorism cases, having presided over the trial of the so-called "millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam. He speaks with authority on the capacity of our constitutional system to handle new challenges.
  6. ^John C. Coughenour (June 4, 2008)."Testimony of The Honorable John C. Coughenour".United States Senate Judiciary Committee.Archived fromthe originalon October 14, 2008.RetrievedOctober 16,2008.
  7. ^Van Meter, Matthew (February 25, 2016)."One Judge Makes the Case for Judgment".The Atlantic.No. February 25, 2016.
  8. ^ Roxanne Lieb."Washington's Sexually Violent Predator Law: Legislative History and Comparisons With Other State"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on May 7, 2009.RetrievedOctober 16,2008.Because the sexual predator law authorizes civil commitment of persons following a prison term, it has faced several constitutional challenges. The Washington State Supreme Court found the law constitutional in 1993. In 1995, U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour found the statute to be criminal in nature and thus in violation of constitutional protections against ex post facto laws and double jeopardy. This ruling has been appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  9. ^Elias, Paul (April 4, 2010)."Court: Sentence for millennium plotter too lenient".The Huffington Post.RetrievedApril 18,2015.
  10. ^abc John C. Coughenour (November 1, 2007)."How to Try a Terrorist".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 21,2007.
  11. ^Bernton, Hal; Green, Sara Jean (July 28, 2005)."Ressam judge decries U.S. tactics".The Seattle Times.Archived fromthe originalon January 1, 2007.RetrievedApril 21,2007.
  12. ^"'Millennium bomber' sentence overturned; feds seek longer one - CNN.com ".CNN.February 2, 2010.RetrievedMay 6,2010.
  13. ^"U.S. v. Ressam, 679 F.3d 1069 (9th Cir. 2012)"(PDF).
  14. ^Bjorhus, Jennifer (September 30, 1995)."Man Wins $5 Million In Deprogramming Suit – Mother Had Tried To Wrest Son Away From Bellevue Church".The Seattle Times.

External links[edit]

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington
1981–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington
1997–2004 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_C._Coughenour&oldid=1181145208"