Federal Criminal Sentencing Guidelines

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• Federal Criminal Sentencing Guidelines

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• Federal Sentencing Guidelines

• Rules that set a uniform sentencing policy for
  convicted Federal Defendants in the United States
  federal court system.
• This set of guidelines is the key to
  appropriately sentencing the accused for crimes
  committed.

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• Overview

• Originally, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
  were deemed as mandatory,
• however, the Supreme Courts decision in United
  States v. Booker 543 U.S. 220 (2005), found that
  the guidelines as originally constituted,
  violated the Sixth Amendment right to trial by
  jury.

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• Overview

• The solution chosen was excision of those
  provisions of the law establishing the guidelines
  that made them mandatory standards.
• So, the guidelines have become discretionary
• Judges may consider them, but are not required to
  adhere to their standards in sentencing
  decisions.

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• Additionally, there is a specific law that
  indicates whether the judge is to increase or
  decrease the recommended sentence by more than a
  certain percentage. In this case, a written
  letter must identify the specific reasons why
  they are departing from the sentence.

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• Federal Criminal Lawyer

• The Federal Criminal Lawyer you hire should be
  familiar with all aspects of the law, as well as
  possessing intimate knowledge of the Federal
  Sentencing Guidelines.
• Without this knowledge, you could be relying on
  misinformation and misjudgement, which could
  hinder your decision to go to trial, plea, or
  co-operate with the government.

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• Factors Determining Sentences

• The Federal Guidelines determine sentences based
  primarily on two factors
• The Conduct Associated With the Defense (the
  offense conduct, which produces the offense
  level)
• The Defendants Criminal History (the criminal
  history category)
• If the prior crimes were committed beyond a
  certain period of time, they may not be eligible
  to score against you.

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• For each pairing of offense level and criminal
  history category, the Sentencing Table, found in
  the Guidelines Manual specifies a sentencing
  range, in months, within which the court may
  sentence a defendant.

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• Contact Us
• Paul D. Petrus, Jr.
• New York Federal Criminal Defense Attorney
• The Empire State Building350 Fifth Avenue, Suite
  3601New York, NY 10118
• Phone ?212-385-1961 /212-564-2440paul_at_petruslaw.
  com
• www.petruslaw.com