How the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Work: An Overview

Summary

Sentencing for all serious federal noncapital crimes begins with the federal Sentencing Guidelines. Congress establishes the maximum penalty and sometimes the minimum penalty for every federal crime by statute. In between, the Guidelines establish a series of escalating sentencing ranges based on the circumstances of the offense and the criminal record of the offender. The Guidelines do so using a score-keeping procedure. The Guidelines process involves:

I. Identification of the most appropriate Guidelines section for the crime(s) of conviction, based on the nature of the offense (the most commonly applicable are noted in the Guidelines Index)

II. Identification of the applicable base offense level indicated by the section

III. Addition/subtraction of offense levels per section instructions for the circumstances in the case at hand

IV. Addition/subtraction of offense levels per instructions in those chapters of the Guidelines relating to

A. Victim related matters

B. Role in the offense

C. Obstruction

D. Multiple counts

E. Acceptance of responsibility

V. Calculation of the criminal history score

VI. Consideration of departures (more/less severe treatment) which the Guidelines permit

VII. Application Guidelines instructions relating to

A. Imprisonment (Sentencing Table)

B. Probation

C. Supervised release

D. Special assessments

E. Fines

F. Restitution

G. Forfeiture

VIII. Sentencing of Organizations

IX. Deviation based on the sentencing principles in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a).

This report is available in an abridged version entitled CRS Report R41697, How the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Work: An Abridged Overview.