Table of Federal Sentencing in States
A criminal justice system without punishments for people convicted of crimes would be meaningless.
Such a system could conclude that someone is guilty, but would not have the ability to do anything about it.
Most people would not see the system as fair and the system would do little to deter someone from committing crimes in the future.
For this reason, every criminal justice system that man has devised has some scheme for punishing the guilty.
See the table of federal sentences in the United States below.
In the United States, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are the most widely used scheme for punishing people convicted of federal crimes.
However, it has not always been so.
The guidelines were first adopted in 1987.
Before that, it was mostly each judge who decided how to punish convicted criminals in his or her court.
This led to a wide disparity in sentencing.
People convicted of a crime in one judge’s court used to face much shorter or longer prison terms than people convicted of the same crime in another judge’s court.
The basic iniciativa behind the Federal Sentencing Guidelines is that afín crimes committed in afín circumstances should be similarly punished.
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How the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Work
In order for sentencing guidelines to achieve the goal of uniformity in sentencing among federal courts, there has to be a way that judges cánido use them to determine how long a convicted person should be incarcerated in the circumstances of the especial case.
For this, a table is used that indicates to the judges what is the appropriate sentence range for the different crimes.
The table takes into account two main factors:
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- The seriousness of the offence, and
- Criminal record of the convicted person.
Both factors need further explanation.
The seriousness of the crime
Each federal crime that is a felony or a class A misdemeanor has an associated crime level.
Misdemeanors are not part of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
There are 43 levels of offense in the guidelines.
The higher the level, the more serious the offense is considered and the longer the prison sentence suggested by the guidelines.
For example, the guidelines suggest that someone convicted of a Level 1 offense should receive a prison sentence of between zero and six months, but someone convicted of a Level 43 offense should receive a life sentence.
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Criminal record of the convicted person
One of the principles underlying the Federal Sentencing Guidelines is that repeat offenders should receive longer prison terms than people convicted of fewer prior criminal acts.
To achieve this, points are awarded for each previous conviction.
The number of points awarded for each conviction cánido be technical and complicated, but some examples are
- 1 point is given for each prior conviction that resulted in a sentence of less than 60 days.
- 2 points are awarded for each prior conviction that has resulted in a sentence of between 60 days and 13 months.
- 3 points are awarded for each prior conviction that has resulted in a sentence greater than 13 months.
All points are added up and the total is used to determine the conviction’s criminal record category.
The Guidelines have six different criminal record categories.
They are expressed in Roman numerals, being Category I the one with the fewest points and Category VI the one with the most points.
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Using the statement table
Once the crime level and criminal record category are determined, using the Sentencing Table is easy.
Criminal history categories are listed at the top and crime levels are listed on the left.
The statement to be enforced appears at the point where the two intersect in the table.
For example, someone with a criminal record category of I convicted of a level 8 felony should be sentenced to between zero and six months in prison.
However, someone convicted of the same level 8 offense but with a criminal record category of V should be sentenced to between 15 and 21 months in prison.
Zones, settings and outputs
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines also allow judges to deviate from suggested sentencing in especial cases.
The sentencing table lists sentences in four different zones: A, B, C, and D.
People who fall into Zone A cánido get parole without having to serve any prison time.
People who fall into Zone B must serve at least a month in prison, but cánido serve the rest of their sentence in alternative confinements, such as house arrest.
People who fall into Zone C must serve at least half of their total sentence in prison, but perro serve the other half in alternative confinements.
Judges also have leeway to impose longer or shorter prison terms if circumstances justify deviating from the guidelines.
Someone who assists in the prosecution of other defendants could receive a lesser sentence than suggested by the sentence table.
However, someone who used a deadly weapon in committing the crime could receive a higher sentence than suggested by the sentencing table.
There are many other reasons why a judge might deviate from the guidelines in a especial case.
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It’s not mandatory
Finally, it is important to understand that the use of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines is not mandatory, as the United States Supreme Court ruled in United States v.
Booker that the guidelines violate the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.
jury.
However, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines continue to be used and judges who use them to sentence those convicted of federal crimes are presumed to have reasonably ruled, making it more difficult for a sentence to be equipo aside on appeal.
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Statement table
Determining the range of the directrix
The point at which the final criminal level and the criminal record category on the commission’s sentencing table intersect determines the defendant’s sentencing guideline range.
Below is an extract from the statement table.
As you perro see, an offender with a Criminal History Category of I and a Final Offense Level of 20 would have a guideline range sentence of 33 to 41 months.
Statement table(excerpt)(in months in prison)
Criminal Record Category
Level ofcrime
Yo
II
II
IV.
V
SAW
..
…
…
…
…
….
19
30-37
33-41
37-46
46-57
57-71
63-78
twenty
33-41
37-46
41-51
51-63
63-78
70-87
twenty-one
37-46
41-51
46-57
57-71
70-87
77-96
..
…
…
…
…
….
Deviations and variations from the guidelines
A judge must then escoge whether there are aggravating or mitigating circumstances that the Sentencing Commission, when formulating the guidelines, did not take into account or did not take sufficiently into account.
(18 USC § 3553(b).) A judge who finds that such an aggravating or mitigating circumstance exists may impose a sentence above or below the range of the guidelines.
However, when deviating from the guidelines, the judge must state the reason in writing.
If the sentence is an upward deviation, the offender may appeal the sentence; if it is a downward deviation, the government perro appeal.
A special type of diversion is “substantial assistance” diversion.
This downward deviation may be granted if the offender has provided substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another offender.
The request for reduction of the sentence for substantial assistance must be provided by the prosecution, but the judge decides whether to grant it and, if so, to what extent.
Finally, the judge may deviate from the guidelines when the circumstances of the offender or crime indicate that it would not be reasonable for the judge to sentence according to the guidelines.
When imposing a sentence based on a variance from the guidelines, the judge must state the reasons in writing, after considering all factors of the sentence as a whole (called section 3553(a) factors).
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imposition of sentence
As a final guiding principle, the law establishes that the judge must impose a sentence that is “sufficient, but not greater than necessary” to fulfill the objectives of the sentence. (18 USC § 3553(a).)
You cánido get more information on these official English websites:
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