Judge Criticized for Undercutting Jury Sentence

The rape and abduction occurred Sept. 13, 2004, the day Milburn was released from prison after serving two years on the embezzlement charges, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, the victim picked Milburn up from the prison. An argument erupted, and he beat the victim and forced her to go with him to his brother's house in the District, where he tried to have sex with her. When his brother burst into the room, Milburn left the house, Wittmann said. She said he then took the victim to his Ashburn apartment, put a razor blade to her throat and raped her.

The Washington Post is not naming the woman because of its policy not to identify alleged rape victims.

Francis said he and his client take issue with the prosecution's version of what happened, but he declined to elaborate, saying he did not want to reveal details of an appeal he plans to file.

Commonwealth's attorneys from elsewhere in the state who were interviewed last week said they do not keep track of how often judges roll back jury's recommended sentences. But they said it is rare.

"It certainly doesn't happen very often," said Theo Stamos, chief deputy commonwealth's attorney for Arlington County. "Judges respect juries' decisions unless they are wildly off, which they don't tend to be."

Virginia law says that juries "fix" the sentences, a word that suggests their decision is more than simply advice to the judge, said John L. Costello, a law professor at George Mason University and author of "Virginia Criminal Law and Procedure," a guide to criminal law in the state of Virginia.

" 'Fix' means that's it. It's done," Costello said, although he added that a judge holds the power to reduce a sentence should the judge choose to show leniency.

Plowman, a Republican and a former Fairfax County prosecutor, was elected in 2004, defeating incumbent Robert D. Anderson. During his campaign, Plowman promised to bring more cases to trial and work more closely with law enforcement than his predecessor. Plowman said last week that he did not have Loudoun sentencing figures more recent than those for the first 16 months of his term.

McCahill has served on the Circuit Court for Loudoun, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties since 2000 and has an eight-year term. He spent almost 20 years as a lawyer in private practice before being appointed to the District Court's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in 1998, a position he held until securing his current position.