Mark Kipnis is upstairs slowly hugging his way through a crowd of tearful family members and friends, and his fate in the end was a most fitting statement on the way this whole day played out.

St. Eve said his situation was one of those rare cases when following the letter of federal sentencing guidelines would actually bring the law into disrepute. Kipnis is a felon; he will never practice law again. His family finances are a shambles, and at the age of 60, he is fighting to make a go of a small sign business in suburban Chicago. The law said that for failing to stop a crime, for which he received nothing, he should go to federal prison for at least two-and-a-half years. The judge said no, and she was right to do so.

But the spectre of one absent participant hung over this courtroom all day, like the proverbial elephant in the room. David Radler's name came up in every single sentencing. St. Eve said he was "at best, equally culpable" as Black in orchestrating the fraudulent non-compete payments.  With regard to Atkinson and Boultbee, she noted that Radler had gotten far greater proceeds, and was much more closely involved in the design and execution of the scheme. With Kipnis she noted that he was simply following Radler's orders.

Again and again she pointed out that fundamental justice demanded that there could not be a huge sentencing disparity between similar defendants convicted of similar crimes. So, when the government handed Radler a sweet deal of 29 months in return for his testimony, they instantly killed any possibility that Black or the others would go away for a decade or more. The gap between what they got and what Radler got would simply be too large.

The prosecutors may have felt that there was no way to get convictions of the Hollinger executive team without Radler's co-operation, and they may have been right. Radler clearly knew where every body was buried because he was wielding the shovel.

Yes, Radler may have helped convict Black, Atkinson, Boultbee and Kipnis. But he may have also significantly reduced the amount of time that any of them will spend in prison. In the case of Mark Kipnis, Radler's own testimony - that Kipnis didn't have anything to do with the scheme and that any bonuses he received were for legitimate work - may have been the biggest factor in ensuring that he will spend the rest of his nights sleeping at home, with his family.

Maybe they shoud stop calling him Ratler now.

The least culpable, most likable defendant gets a complete walk. No prison time. 275 hours of community service, six months of home detention (he can leave to go to work), five years probation, and no fine at all. This is a defeat for the government but is absolutely just, and a huge endorsement of Ron Safer—the best lawyer in the room by a mile.

Now Safer is likening Kipnis's case to the movie It's a Wonderful Life. I think it's time to bring this speech to an end.

There are quite a few wet eyes in the room now, and defence lawyer Ron Safer is flat-out asking the judge not to take this father away from his family. "In this unusual case," he says, "the respect for the law is dis-served by a jail term." The judge is showing almost no reaction whatsoever.

Blair Kipnis is speaking in a fast, shaking voice and almost begging St. Eve not to send his father to prison. "It kills me to know that he feels he's let us down. Your honour, he never has." He's flat out saying it's not fair, which is pretty ballsy and pretty moving.