NCJ Number
104618
Date Published
1987
Length
234 pages
Annotation
This revised draft of Federal sentencing guidelines, composed in response to public comment on the preliminary draft, presents guidelines principles, base offense level scores for various Federal offenses, scoring for offender characteristics, and procedures for determining various sentences.
Abstract
The commission's sentencing approach reflects the aims of just punishment and crime control. The revised draft uses traditional offense categories and takes as its base the offense of conviction. Related conduct not included in the offense of conviction may still be used to aggravate or mitigate a sentence but does not carry the weight of the convicted offense. The guidelines aim at reducing disparity while permitting individualization. Various offenses are assigned numerical levels, ranging from 1 to 43, which correspond with a potential imprisonment range. Commentary explains the guideline in greater detail or identifies the statutory provisions governing the subject matter. Guidelines for scoring offender characteristics cover criminal history, special offenders, postoffense conduct, and other offender characteristics. Policy statements address sentencing procedures applicable to all cases, including those in which guilty or nolo contendere pleas are entered with or without a plea agreement as well as convictions based upon guilty verdicts after trial. A chapter discusses the use of probation and sentencing options other than imprisonment, and the concluding chapter presents policies for the revocation of probation and supervised release. Appended authorizing legislation and related sentencing provisions and a record of the commission vote and a dissent.