Professor Chin Talks to the Journal Nature About Factors in Harvard Chemist's Sentencing
Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin spoke to the journal Nature about Charles Lieber, the Harvard chemist who in December was convicted of making false statements about his ties to China, and related tax offenses.
Chin told Nature that Lieber’s contributions to science could be taken into account in his sentencing but said it was not clear whether they will be a benefit or a disadvantage.
“It is not as though he was a poor person who needed the money, or that he did not have the intelligence to understand the law, or the resources to hire lawyers to comply with it,” Chin said. “In addition, his significant scientific contributions and expertise may make his secret association with a foreign power all the more potentially harmful.”
Gabriel "Jack" Chin is Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law and holder of the Edward L. Barrett Jr. Endowed Chair at UC Davis School of Law. He is a prolific and much-cited criminal and immigration law scholar whose work has addressed many of the most pressing social issues of our time.