Federal Sentencing Guidelines IX

Well, this is the end of the very, very brief overview of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.  I hope you found it useful.

     Keep in mind that although we tend to talk about the "big ticket" fraud cases that appear in Federal Court, the vast majority of fraud cases are handled through the State systems.  Cases such as Bernie Madoff and Allan Stanford, which grab all the headlines, are prosecuted through the Federal courts btu they are not alone.  The various State systems handle many more cases.

     For the next series of postings, therefore, we will talk about Texas state law when it comes to sentencing. As stated several times in this series of posts, Texas guidelines are far less exact than Federal guidelines.  This is both positive and negative.  Federal guidelines do allow an attorney to tell his client what he is facing which is very important when discussing plea bargains.  However, State crimes and sentencing do allow for more flexibility.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Federal Sentencing Guidelines VIII

So - we have seen that the Guidelines are precise (or at least precise for the practice of law).  An attorney can tell a client the time that he is facing.  In addition, the guidelines also offer the advantage in that the specific offense and the criminal history can be easily identified (which is not often the case with State criminal court, especially Texas State criminal courts).

      But, as also explained, their are exceptions to the guidelines.  And, before we conclude our discussion on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, there is one more issue we need to discuss.

     In 2005, the United States Supreme Court decided the extremely important case of United States of America v. Booker.  The decision was that the guidelines are just that - guidelines, and are not mandatory.  This means that a judge (Federal judge of course) can depart from the guidelines.

     Here is Wikipedia's overview of the case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Booker

     This means that although an attorney can tell his client what he is facing, the previous level of certainty (before 2005) no longer exists. 

     Once again, the sentencing in the Federal system is very exact compared with most State systems (readers will note in an earlier post where the penalties for a second degree felony in Texas ranged from 2-20 years). 

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Federal Sentencing Guidelines VII

So, we have seen the Guidelines at work.  On the surface, it would appear very simple.  Use the horizontal line to determine the criminal history of the defendant.  Use the vertical line to determine the severity of the crime.  Find the joinder of the two and you have the range of months of sentencing.

     But, of course, nothing is ever easy when dealing with the Federal government and especially the Federal criminal system.  There are (usually) mitigating factors which can reduce the sentencing level.

    The most common example is if the defendant chooses to accept a guilty plea and not go to trial AND will admit responsibility for his actions.  For most crimes, this means that the defendant will receive a REDUCTION of three points (on the vertical line) for acceptance of responsibility (for low level crimes, it is only a two point reduction).  This leads, of course, to less prison time.  In addition, there are other mitigating factors that can be taken into account by the Judge in sentencing.

So, although Federal sentencing is fairly straightforward, it is not at all 100% guaranteed, even if it is on the chart.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Federal Sentencing Guidelines VI

OK - going back to the Federal sentencing table again - look at the vertical line.

     The vertical line represents the severity of the criminal offense of which the defendant is accused.  The numbers range from 0-43.  Obviously, the higher the number, the more severe the offense.  Therefore, if a person is charged with a crime with an offense level of 5 (unlikely since the Feds only pursue the most severe crimes), the person will face 0-6 monthis in Federal prison (if the person only has a I criminal history).  If the person is charged with a crime with an offense level of 27, he is looking at 70-87 months in Federal prison (once again if the person only has a I criminal history). 

    So, by looking at the horizontal line (criminal history) and the vertical line (severity of the crime of which the person is accused), the defendant can get a reasonable idea of how much time he is facing for the offense(s).

     This is vastly different from Texas state criminal courts.  For example, a 2nd degree felony carris with it a punishment range of 2-20 years.  Obviously, this leaves open a vast amount of time of which is much narrower in the Federal system. 

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Federal Sentencing Guidelines V

Let's look at the horizontal bar again on the guideline scale.

     The numbers go from I-VI or numbers 0-13 or more.  This is the criminal history of the defendant. 

    Obviously, the higher the number the greater the criminal history of the person.  When a defendant is being evaluated for a possible sentence by his attorney, the criminal history is critical.  The more crimes the person committed throughout his life (or, to be more specific, the crimes for which he was convicted in the past) and the seriousness of the crimes for which he was convicted (obviously there is a great difference between traffic tickets and armed robbery) will indicate in which criminal history category the defendant belongs.

     A person with a low criminal history, therefore, has much more "give" when he is faced with sentencing in the Federal system.  A defendant with a criminal history of I can have an offense level of 12 and be facing 10-16 months in the Federal system vs. a defendant with a criminal history of VI who will be facing 30-37 months for the exact same offense level. 

      The horizontal axis, therefore, of the Guidelines are extremely important when advising a defendant on the amount of Federal prison time he is facing.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk