What is the potential sentence for the offense alleged?
Criminal offenses generally fall into one of two categories – State or Federal. The State of Florida has developed guidelines which provide a range for the sentence. The guideline range is determined by the nature of the crime and the criminal history of the Defendant. The United States has developed the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to promote uniformity in sentences brought in the Federal Courts. The offenses are divided by category such as offenses against persons, basic economic crimes, drugs, racketeering, taxation, etc. Each category of crime is contained in a designated part of chapter two of the Federal Sentencing Guideline Manual. Each particular crime is assigned a numerical base offense level. This offense level is increased as the amount in controversy increases. Many of the crimes have loss or weight tables that state the numerical increase to the base offense level. Once the offense level is determined there are adjustments that may increase the offense level for factors
