Vick's plea faces 'tough but fair' judge

We shall see what the judge says on Monday...

From AP:

RICHMOND, Va. - The judge who will determine how much time Michael Vick spends in prison has shown little mercy over the years for high-profile defendants. Nobody knows this better than defense lawyer Robert H. Smallenberg.

In 2004, he represented a city official who stole more than $1 million from Richmond taxpayers. He was well aware U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson had earned a reputation for handing down stiff sentences."Tough but fair" is the description most often heard from lawyers who appear before Hudson, who owns a bichon frise dog and declined to be interviewed.

owns a bichon frise dog and declined to be interviewed.
"He's a good trial judge, but on sentencing he tends to be in the middle or upper range of the sentencing guidelines," said attorney Murray Janus. "A lot of judges start at the low end. Not Judge Hudson."
Still, Smallenberg was caught off-guard by how hard Hudson came down on his client. The judge sentenced Robert Evans to 10 years in prison — double what was called for under federal sentencing guidelines — declaring "the abuse of trust here is absolutely immeasurable."

Based on his personal experience, Smallenberg said he won't be surprised if Hudson takes a similarly tough position in the case of NFL star Vick, who is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge Monday.
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because terms of the plea agreement are not final, has told The Associated Press prosecutors will recommend a sentence of one year to 18 months. However, the maximum sentence is five years, and Hudson is not bound by any recommendation or by the federal sentencing guidelines.

Although the Vick case is the most sensational one to come before Hudson since President Bush appointed him to the federal bench in 2002, he's handled cases involving locally prominent people.