Is the Hearing Examiner required to follow the Guidelines?
No, the guidelines serve only as a general indicator for use during your hearing. The Examiner may make a recommendation outside of the guidelines, but in such case the examiner must state in writing the special reasons which justify that recommendation. In making a recommendation, the Examiner may take into account anything of importance relating to your case. Since no two persons’ situations are alike, factors of importance in one case may not be important in another. Codefendants, for example, may not be handled alike because of their different backgrounds or other facts which make their cases different.
