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Federal Sentencing Guidelines
A top-rated Federal defense attorney will fight to avoid the potentially devastating consequences of a federal prison sentence and will be skilled and knowledgeable about Federal sentencing law. In general The United States Sentencing Guidelines, also called the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, seriously limit judicial discretion, i.e.—the Guidelines make it more difficult for the Judge to impose a lesser sentence based on mitigating factors. Although the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are now considered advisory, rather than mandatory, they still must be considered at sentencing. Furthermore, many Federal Judges hesitate to depart far from the Guidelines calculation of a defendant’s sentence.
The Guidelines take into account the seriousness of the offense and the defendant’s past criminal history. Under the Guidelines, there are 6 criminal history categories listed. For example, a Criminal History Category 1 is for a defendant with little to no criminal history and a Criminal History Category 6 is for a defendant with a very long criminal history. The greater the person’s criminal history, the longer potential Federal prison sentence he faces under the Guidelines.
The Guidelines also calculate what is called a defendant’s total offense level. The offense level is calculated by adding together the defendant’s base offense level and any additional downward or upward adjustments and/or departures. The Guidelines have a complicated sentencing table which enables both parties to argue to increase or to decrease the offense level of the defendant which in turn increases or decreases the amount of prison time he faces. See Sentencing table http://www.ussc.gov/2009guid/SENTNTAB.pdf
A good Federal defense attorney argues for all mitigating circumstances to be considered and applied—both factors under the Guidelines, and factors outside the Guidelines—in order to lessen the potential sentence a defendant will face.
Mandatory Minimums
Mandatory minimum sentences are precisely what they sound like: a minimum prison sentence which a Federal Judge must impose for a particular case. While mandatory minimum sentences may be unduly severe, there are ways for a skilled and knowledgeable Federal defense attorney to avoid the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence. Furthermore, mandatory minimums only apply to limited types of federal criminal offenses such as: drug offenses, child pornography offenses, and immigration offenses.
Some Federal criminal cases where a mandatory minimum may be imposed:
- Distribution of child pornography
- Sales, conspiracy, or attempted sales of a controlled substances such s marijuana, cocaine, or heroin
- Alien smuggling for profit
Federal Sentencing Hearing
In Federal criminal cases, unless there is an acquittal after trial on all charges, there will be a formal Federal sentencing hearing. Generally speaking, the parties do not agree upon a particular specific sentence prior to the sentencing hearing but rather agree upon a base offense level and allow for additional arguments to be made at the hearing. At this hearing the Court will consider a report that has been issued from the United States Probation (called a “PSR” or Presentencing Report), in addition to arguments from the defense and the prosecution. The Court must consider the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and then determine whether to impose a sentence within the Guidelines range or outside the Guidelines range. Because the Court technically has the right to sentence any defendant to the maximum prison sentence allowable under a particular Federal criminal statute, it is essential to have an experienced, prepared, and aggressive Federal criminal defense attorney to fight for you at sentencing. If you, or a loved one, is fighting a Federal criminal case, then contact a top-rated Federal criminal defense attorney today at the Law Offices of Karen L. Goldstein for a free, confidential consultation: (888) 445-6313.