NCJ Number
115229
Date Published
1988
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines sentencing options and practices and their implications for criminal defense advocacy and sentencing recommendations.
Abstract
Sentencing preparation is considered from the perspective of the defense counsel and defendant, the court, and the Parole Commission. Technical assessment components are reviewed, including the salient factor score, the offense severity rating, and Commission decisionmaking guidelines. The relation between Commission guidelines and statutory sentencing guidelines is discussed, as well as how forms used for communicating with the Commission can help or hurt the defendant. Nonincarcerative (fines, restitution, probation, halfway house) and incarcerative (4205 series sentences) options used by Federal district judges are delineated, with focus on how sentencing statutes, the court-imposed sentence, and parole guidelines jointly shape the actual sentence that will be served. Special sentencing options, such as those under the Youth Corrections Act and the Narcotic Addicts Rehabilitation Act, also are reviewed. Guidelines are provided for planning sentencing recommendations based on this information and for general defense sentencing advocacy tactics. 104 footnotes.