Looks like Superior Court Judge Michael Donio doesn't fear the anti-gun lobby at all! Kudos to him!
Donio previously became the first judge in the state to open up the Graves Act waivers, which record decisions on pretrial intervention concerning these cases. The records are meant to be kept for the attorney general’s review to make sure the law is being applied uniformly.
Donio, the judge in the Allen case, gave his views on mandatory minimums the Graves Act calls for during sentencing in a similar case last month.
In that case, Justin Brey, 26, had his gun on him at work in Pennsylvania — where he has a concealed carry permit — when his friend picked him up to take him to his surprise bachelor party destination in April 2013.
He didn’t realize he would be crossing state lines, and when they got to Caesars Atlantic City, he put his gun in a drawer of the hotel — then left for home without it. By the time he returned for it, a maid had found it and police were called. Despite a plea deal calling for a three-year sentence with one year without parole, Donio gave Brey two years’ probation.
Another case, in which he gave day-reporting, has been appealed by the Prosecutor’s Office.
“If you don't trust the judge enough to make the correct decisions, then don't appoint them to the bench,” Donio said at Brey’s sentencing. "These mandatory laws tie our hands, and in tying our hands, sometimes justice doesn't get served.”