Utah's youngest federal judge resigns

Cassell's short career as a federal judge has been marked with several opinions that gained him national attention. In his 2004 decision in the United States v. Croxford, he became the first judge in the country to hold that the federal sentencing guidelines were unconstitutional based on prior Supreme Court decisions. In 2005, Cassell became the first judge to interpret the meaning of the Supreme Court Booker decision on the new advisory nature of the guidelines, and in 2004, defense attorneys applauded Cassell for authoring a lengthy opinion decrying a 55-year mandatory minimum sentence he was required to impose on young marijuana dealer Weldon Angelos. Also in 2005, Chief Justice William Rehnquist appointed Judge Cassell to be the chairman of the Judicial Conference Committee on Criminal Law.

As for victim's rights, Cassell said there are many questions that need answers. The privacy of rape records, questions of a crime victim's role in the criminal process and their right to make statements at sentencing are all issues which need exploring, he said.

Cassell said his voiced frustration over minimum-mandatory sentences, such as Angelos' 55-year mandatory sentence, had no bearing on his decision to step down, however, "I'm looking forward to speak my mind freely on issues like minimum-mandatory sentencing and crime victims rights."

In addition to his teaching, Cassell has also accepted a position with the National Crime Victims Law Institute to litigate crime victims' cases across the country.

Cassell graduated from Stanford Law School in 1984 and clerked for then U.S. Appeals Court Judge Antonin Scalia and later for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren E. Burger. In 1986 Cassell was appointed associate deputy attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1988 he was named assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Cassell was first named professor of law at the University of Utah in 1991. While teaching at the S.J. Quinney College of Law he received many honors and awards, including the 1997 Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence.

Chief federal judge for Utah Tena Campbell said the news of Cassell's resignation took her by surprise.

"He is an intelligent, energetic and hard-working person and we will hate to see him go."

Campbell said she is unsure of when the formal process will take place to find Cassell's replacement, but added the person will have to come from Utah.

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