WHAT ARE THE FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES AND WHY ARE THEY SO STRICT?
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines were set out in the Sentencing Reform Act over twenty years ago. They are a complicated system that weighs the seriousness of particular crimes and also assigns specific values to “relevant conduct” and criminal history to mathematically produce a (now advisory) sentencing range. It has failed in the goal of providing consistency and uniformity in sentencing throughout the United States because of the way Courts have interpreted the guidelines, the disparity of treatment of certain crimes and conduct, and numerous policies of local U.S. Attorneys. It is critical for you to know that your punishment range is based upon highly complex mathematical formulas and case law which take years to master. If your attorney cannot automatically cite to you the various provisions of the sentencing guidelines which should apply to your case, he probably is not the person you need representing you in a Federal court. Also, under the Guidelines a person who pleads guil
