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AMENDMENTS TO THE GUIDELINES MANUAL

2024

AMENDMENT 381

The Commentary to §4A1.1 captioned "Application Notes" is amended by inserting the following additional sentence as the second sentence of Note 4 and the third sentence of Note 5:

"Failure to report for service of a sentence of imprisonment is to be treated as an escape from such sentence. See §4A1.2(n).".

The Commentary to §4A1.1 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in the third (formerly second) sentence of Note 4 by inserting the following immediately before the period at the end of the sentence:

"having a custodial or supervisory component, although active supervision is not required for this item to apply. For example, a term of unsupervised probation would be included; but a sentence to pay a fine, by itself, would not be included. A defendant who commits the instant offense while a violation warrant from a prior sentence is outstanding (e.g., a probation, parole, or supervised release violation warrant) shall be deemed to be under a criminal justice sentence for the purposes of this provision if that sentence is otherwise countable, even if that sentence would have expired absent such warrant. See §4A1.2(m)".

Section 4A1.2(a) is amended by inserting the following additional subdivision:

"(4) Where a defendant has been convicted of an offense, but not yet sentenced, such conviction shall be counted as if it constituted a prior sentence under §4A1.1(c) if a sentence resulting from that conviction otherwise would be countable. In the case of a conviction for an offense set forth in §4A1.2(c)(1), apply this provision only where the sentence for such offense would be countable regardless of type or length.

‘Convicted of an offense,’ for the purposes of this provision, means that the guilt of the defendant has been established, whether by guilty plea, trial, or plea of nolo contendere.".

Section 4A1.2(k)(2) is amended by deleting the last sentence as follows:

"It may also affect the time period under which certain sentences are counted as provided in §4A1.2(e)(1).";

by inserting "(A)" immediately after "(2)"; and by inserting the following additional subdivision:

"(B) Revocation of probation, parole, supervised release, special parole, or mandatory release may affect the time period under which certain sentences are counted as provided in §4A1.2(d)(2) and (e). For the purposes of determining the applicable time period, use the following: (i) in the case of an adult term of imprisonment totaling more than one year and one month, the date of last release from incarceration on such sentence (see §4A1.2(e)(1)); (ii) in the case of any other confinement sentence for an offense committed prior to the defendant’s eighteenth birthday, the date of the defendant’s last release from confinement on such sentence (see §4A1.2(d)(2)(A)); and (iii) in any other case, the date of the original sentence (see §4A1.2(d)(2)(B) and (e)(2)).".

Section 4A1.2 is amended by inserting the following additional subsections:

"(l) Sentences on Appeal

Prior sentences under appeal are counted except as expressly provided below. In the case of a prior sentence, the execution of which has been stayed pending appeal, §4A1.1(a), (b), (c), (d), and (f) shall apply as if the execution of such sentence had not been stayed; §4A1.1(e) shall not apply.

(m) Effect of a Violation Warrant

For the purposes of §4A1.1(d), a defendant who commits the instant offense while a violation warrant from a prior sentence is outstanding (e.g., a probation, parole, or supervised release violation warrant) shall be deemed to be under a criminal justice sentence if that sentence is otherwise countable, even if that sentence would have expired absent such warrant.

(n) Failure to Report for Service of Sentence of Imprisonment

For the purposes of §4A1.1(d) and (e), failure to report for service of a sentence of imprisonment shall be treated as an escape from such sentence.

(o) Felony Offense

For the purposes of §4A1.2(c), a ‘felony offense’ means any federal, state, or local offense punishable by death or a term of imprisonment exceeding one year, regardless of the actual sentence imposed.".

The Commentary to §4A1.2 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in Note 1 by inserting the following additional paragraph:

"Under §4A1.2(a)(4), a conviction for which the defendant has not yet been sentenced is treated as if it were a prior sentence under §4A1.1(c) if a sentence resulting from such conviction otherwise would have been counted. In the case of an offense set forth in §4A1.2(c)(1) (which lists certain misdemeanor and petty offenses), a conviction for which the defendant has not yet been sentenced is treated as if it were a prior sentence under §4A1.2(a)(4) only where the offense is similar to the instant offense (because sentences for other offenses set forth in §4A1.2(c)(1) are counted only if they are of a specified type and length).".

The Commentary to §4A1.2 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in Note 2 by inserting, immediately after "stated maximum", the following:

"(e.g., in the case of a determinate sentence of five years, the stated maximum is five years; in the case of an indeterminate sentence of one to five years, the stated maximum is five years; in the case of an indeterminate sentence for a term not to exceed five years, the stated maximum is five years; in the case of an indeterminate sentence for a term not to exceed the defendant’s twenty-first birthday, the stated maximum is the amount of time in pre-trial detention plus the amount of time between the date of sentence and the defendant’s twenty-first birthday)".

The Commentary to §4A1.2 is amended in Note 11 by inserting the following additional paragraph at the end:

"Where a revocation applies to multiple sentences, and such sentences are counted separately under §4A1.2(a)(2), add the term of imprisonment imposed upon revocation to the sentence that will result in the greatest increase in criminal history points. Example: A defendant was serving two probationary sentences, each counted separately under §4A1.2(a)(2); probation was revoked on both sentences as a result of the same violation conduct; and the defendant was sentenced to a total of 45 days of imprisonment. If one sentence had been a ‘straight’ probationary sentence and the other had been a probationary sentence that had required service of 15 days of imprisonment, the revocation term of imprisonment (45 days) would be added to the probationary sentence that had the 15-day term of imprisonment. This would result in a total of 2 criminal history points under §4A1.1(b) (for the combined 60-day term of imprisonment) and 1 criminal history point under §4A1.1(c) (for the other probationary sentence).".

Section 4A1.3(d) is amended by deleting ", sentencing, or appeal" and inserting in lieu thereof "or sentencing".

Reason for Amendment: This amendment clarifies the meaning of the term "under a criminal justice sentence" as used in §4A1.1; inserts a new subdivision in §4A1.2(a) to address the case in which the defendant has been convicted of a prior offense, but has not yet been sentenced for that offense; inserts an additional subdivision in §4A1.2(k) to clarify the determination of the applicable time periods in revocation cases; inserts additional subsections in §4A1.2 to address the counting of sentences stayed pending appeal, the effect of a violation warrant on the counting of points under §4A1.1(d), the counting of a failure to report for service of sentence under §4A1.1(d) and (e), and the definition of a felony offense as used in §4A1.2(c); adds an example to Application Note 2 in the Commentary to §4A1.2 to illustrate the meaning of "stated maximum" sentence; adds an additional application note in the Commentary to §4A1.2 addressing the counting of points in complex revocation cases; and conforms the Commentary of §4A1.3 to the addition of §4A1.2(l).

Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 1991.