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

Federal Sentencing Guidelines IV

OK - review the chart from the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in the previous post.  This chart is the authority for determining the amount of time a person will receive for crime(s) for which a person is sentenced within the Federal Criminal justice system.

     This chart is easy to read once you get the hang of it.  The horizontal line is the criminal history.  The greater the number, the higher the person's criminal history.  Obviously, the greater the criminal history, the greater the punishment. 

    The vertical line is the severity of the crime(s) for which the person is convicted.  The numbers range from 1-43.  Obviously once again, the higher the number, the more serious the crime. 

   The numbers are the number of months for which the person can be convicted, anywhere from 0 (probation) to life.

     The sentence, therefore, is a point between the person's criminal history and the severity of the crime(s) for which the person is convicted.

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 III

The basic explanation for Federal Sentencing Guidelines is this chart:

http://www.miami-criminal-lawyer.net/html/federal-sentencing-table.html

We will discuss this the next posting.

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 II

The best way to begin is with an overview of Federal Sentencing Guidelines.  Wikipedia offers the best overview, so here is a link to the article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Federal_Sentencing_Guidelines

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 I

     Much of white-collar crime and fraud is done at the Federal level (although there are plenty of state statutes and criminal penalties against this type of crime as well, at least in Texas).  Federal crimes are, by their very nature, generally reserved for more complex crimes or crimes which have a higher financial loss.  This makes sense because their are far more State and local proscutors and judges than Federal judges or United States attorneys.  Our legal system (the U.S. legal system) has developed over the years so that Federal white collar crimes generally (but not always) involve greater financial loss to a person or entity.  There are other ways in which Federal jurisdiction can be invoked, but that is beyond the scope of this posting.

     We will spend the next few posts discussing punishment for crimes at the Federal level.  Federal sentencing (the jail time and/or punishment for crimes) is a law school course all on its own (I should know since I myself studied this in law school), but there are some basic principles about which we can discuss Federal sentencing and crimes.  This is important for our ongoing discussions on fraud since many times when we read or hear about a fraudster being imprisoned, it is at the Federal level and there are often questions about how or why the defendant received the sentence he did (think Bernie Madoff). 

    So, for the next week or so, let's discuss how a defendant is sentenced for a crime at the Federal level either after he pleads guilty or after he goes to trial and loses.

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