December 21, 2010 10:29AM # Brian Aitken’s Sentence Commuted By [David Rittgers](https://www.cato.org/people/david-rittgers) --- SHARE New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has [commuted the seven-year sentence of Brian Aitken](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/21/christie-commutes-sentence-man-sent-jail-owning-guns/), the man [wrongfully convicted](https://www.cato.org/will-governor-christie-pardon-brian-aitken/) on firearms charges under that state’s draconian gun laws. Good. While a full pardon seems more appropriate – the judge in this case [should have given the jury instructions on the “moving exception”](http://reason.com/archives/2010/11/15/brian-aitkens-mistake) that protected Aitken – this is at least recognition of an injustice and relief for one man and his family. The New Jersey state judicial system’s webpage [describes](http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/juror.htm) the grand jury’s function as “a screening mechanism to protect citizens from unfounded charges.” That didn’t happen in this case. For more on this phenomenon, read this Cato Policy Analysis, “*[A Grand Façade: How the Grand Jury Was Captured by the Government](https://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-476es.html)*.” For more Cato work on criminal justice, check out Tim Lynch’s excellent book, *[In the Name of Justice](https://www.cato.org/store/books/name-justice-leading-experts-reexamine-classic-article-aims-criminal-law-hardback)*. ##### Related Tags [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).