Lynne Stewart was once a great lawyer.

Sadly, while defending a client, she chose to become part of a criminal conspiracy to direct terrorist activities.

Convicted in federal court, she was sentenced yesterday for her crimes.

Lawyer Lynne Stewart was sentenced Monday to 28 months in prison for helping a terrorist client communicate with his followers, a far less severe sentence than the 30 years sought by federal prosecutors.

As U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl delivered his sentence in a packed federal courtroom in Manhattan, Stewart lifted her glasses and dabbed at tears while her husband gave a tight hug to their daughter. An hour later, the 67-year-old lawyer emerged from the federal courthouse holding hands with her granddaughter and grandson and, to loud cheers and applause from hundreds of supporters, declared a victory of sorts over the Bush administration.

What is disgusting is that this "victory over the Bush administration" comes despite the fact that the judge acknowledged that Stewart's offense was reat, severe, and potentially lethal.

n fact, Koeltl made it clear that Stewart had committed a serious offense by smuggling messages between her client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, and his followers in the Middle East, including a statement withdrawing the sheik's support for a cease-fire with the Egyptian government. Stewart's actions, Koeltl said, constituted "extraordinarily severe criminal conduct" and material support for terrorism, and could have had "lethal consequences."

Koeltl noted, however, that neither Stewart's actions nor those of her co-defendants, translator Mohammed Yousry and Rahman aide Ahmed Abdel Sattar, resulted in violence in the United States or overseas.

It seems, though, that the judge in this case was a fan of her prior legal work, and allowed his admiration for her previous public service to be the basis for this absurdly low sentence -- and therefore wildly departed from federal sentencing guidelines.

Stewart should have spent the remainder of her life rotting in prison. Instead, the judge sent a message that terrorists and their associates who act out of what are perceived as noble motives can expect leniency.

And you wonder why many of us have argued against treating terrorism as a criminal matter and not a military one. Judge Koeltl proves that the courts are ill-equipped to handle such matters.