When is it appropriate for a judge to impose a sentence enhancement
under the guidelines?
Thank you, Senator.
This federal sentencing guidelines. Um
Are crafted.
To assist courts in
Making sentencing determinations within the broad range.
That Congress prescribes for cases.
For for crimes. So in the typical case
A defendant is convicted of some crime. Um, in the federal system,
they're usually
Very serious crimes.
And Congress will say.
Judge. You can give that person a sentence anywhere between zero
and 20 years, for example.
The sentencing guidelines are designed to set out a series of factors
that judges should be looking at when they decide what they're going
to sentence. That particular person, too.
And those factors will be things like
If this is a violent crime, does the person have a weapon? If this
is a violent crime, was there any injury? And so the judges looking
at these facts in many cases, horrible facts and calculating the
guidelines based on what we call enhancements, each one of those
Different characteristics or conditions is an enhancement.
So you ask, when is it important to, um
when it's appropriate? Well, the judge judge has to calculate the
guidelines.
In every case, that's how we start the process.
But under the statutes, in addition to calculating the guidelines
with all of those enhancements
The way our system now works is you determine what the guideline
range of punishment is going to be?
And then Congress says, you look at a series of other factors in
addition to the guideline range, and at the end of the day, the judges
in the system now
Are choosing sentences based on both the consideration of the guidelines
and also the consideration of the statutory factors that Congress
has
Put forward.
Have you ever declined to him pose and then Hanse sentence on a defendant
because you disagreed with the enhancement as a policy matter.
Thank you, Senator. Yes, And the reason is because of Supreme Court
case law concerning, um, the way in which the guideline system operates.
The Supreme Court has, um, determined in case we discussed yesterday
that the guidelines are no longer binding on judges, meaning
Um, the guidelines you calculate, but you don't have to stay in the
guideline range anymore. That was, um, the Supreme Court's Booker
case.
In and I can't remember if it's in that case or in subsequent case
law. But the Supreme Court is also made clear that when you are calculating
the guideline range in the new system that we're in right now.
Judges are free they, the Supreme Court has said to decide in particular
cases, whether as a quote unquote policy matter.
They disagree with a particular enhancement that is the state of
the law. That is what the Supreme Court has said judges are permitted
to do.
In cases and so I have in certain cases, given the way in which the
guidelines are operating the disparities that are created in cases
I have at times identified various enhancements that I have disagreed
with as a policy matter because the Supreme Court has said