The Role of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines

• In Event: Policy Panel: Federal Prisons at a Crossroads

Abstract

The U.S. Sentencing Commission has played a crucial but frequently overlooked role in the formulation of federal sentencing policy. While federal sentencing guidelines created by the commission are no longer mandatory, they remain the starting point for judges as they weigh penalties for convicted defendants. This presentation will highlight recent trends in federal sentencing and present data about the vital role that guidelines, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission, continue to play.

Author

• Glenn Schmitt, U.S. Sentencing Commission