Federal Sentencing Guidelines: A Report on the Operation of the Guidelines System and Short-Term Impacts on Disparity in Sentencing, Use of Incarceration, and Prosecutorial Discretion and Plea Bargaining

• NCJ Number: 137987
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 424 pages
• Corporate Author: US Sentencing Cmssn
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Executive Summary, Volume I, Volume II

Annotation

This report summarizes four studies designed by the Sentencing Commission in response to its statutory evaluation mandate: an implementation study that examines the operation of the guidelines and studies of the impact of the guidelines on sentencing disparity, use of incarceration, and prosecutorial discretion and plea bargaining.

Abstract

Preliminary findings suggest that the process of guideline implementation is progressing steadily with clear indications of increasing acceptance and success despite occasional problems and unevenness among jurisdictions. Guideline sentencing now appears to be the norm in Federal courts. More than three-fourths of the fiscal year 1991 defendants are subject to the new law. Recognizing an ongoing need for effective training programs and materials, the Commission trained more than 12,000 judges and practitioners on guideline application and sentencing procedure from 1989 through the first 10 months of 1991. 476 footnotes, 145 tables, and 5 appendixes