NCJ Number
138621
Journal
Yale Law Journal Volume: 101 Issue: 8 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 1681-1771
Date Published
1992
Length
91 pages
Annotation
This commentary examines Federal sentencing guidelines from the vantage point of a continuous observer.
Abstract
The discussion, which begins with a review of the evolution of the present Federal sentencing system, describes the four-level guidelines system of policymaking, rulemaking, sentencing, and reviewing; considers the roles of the rulemakers (Congress and the Sentencing Commission), the sentencers, and the reviewers with particular focus on the interplay between the district court sentencing process and guideline enforcement on the part of the appellate court; and concludes with a review of the panorama of problems and the reasons Federal sentencing guidelines are not succeeding. The U.S. Sentencing Commission and the courts have played major roles in creating a sentencing system that works poorly since passage of the Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) of 1984. Unbalanced membership, inadequate research, and mixed messages about departures emerge as the three ongoing problems which limit the Commission's ability to establish workable guidelines. The judiciary has compounded the Commission's failures by its misinterpretation of the SRA and the Guidelines Manual. The commentary concludes with an open letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. 57 footnotes