Judge T.S. Ellis III, 85, Dies; Stirred Outcry Over Manafort Sentence
His wife, Rebecca Garrou Ellis, said the cause was complications of Covid-19.
Sitting in the Eastern District of Virginia, Judge Ellis presided in several high-profile cases, including the 2002 plea bargain of John Walker Lindh, the Californian (labeled 'the American Taliban' in the news media) who fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of the agreement, Mr. Lindh was freed on probation in 2019.
Judge Ellis also oversaw the corruption trial of former Rep. William J. Jefferson, Democrat of Louisiana, in 2009, in which Mr. Jefferson, known by political opponents as 'Dollar Bill,' was convicted on 11 charges of racketeering, bribery and money laundering involving business activities in Africa. Though Mr. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison, Judge Ellis tossed out seven of the charges and released him in 2017.
An often sharp-tongued jurist, Judge Ellis was known for sparring with lawyers on both sides in a case, running brisk trials — his court in Alexandria was known as the 'rocket docket' — and sometimes going off on personal tangents.
No episode brought him more attention than his sentencing decision in the Manafort case.
Mr. Manafort had been found guilty of tax and bank fraud and was expected to serve 19 to 24 years under federal guidelines. Prosecutors said that over a decade he had hid his wealth to avoid paying $6 million in taxes and had deceived banks to obtain millions of dollars in loans.
In sentencing him to 47 months, Judge Ellis expressed some sympathy for Mr. Manafort.
'Go and spend a day in the jail or penitentiary of the federal government,' he said from the bench. 'Spend a week there. He has to spend 47 months.'
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