AMENDMENT 506
The Commentary to §4B1.1 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in Note 2 by deleting:
"‘Offense Statutory Maximum’ refers to the maximum term of imprisonment authorized for the offense of conviction that is a crime of violence or controlled substance offense.",
and inserting in lieu thereof:
"‘Offense Statutory Maximum,’ for the purposes of this guideline, refers to the maximum term of imprisonment authorized for the offense of conviction that is a crime of violence or controlled substance offense, not including any increase in that maximum term under a sentencing enhancement provision that applies because of the defendant’s prior criminal record (such sentencing enhancement provisions are contained, for example, in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B), (b)(1)(C), and (b)(1)(D)). For example, where the statutory maximum term of imprisonment under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) is increased from twenty years to thirty years because the defendant has one or more qualifying prior drug convictions, the ‘Offense Statutory Maximum’ for the purposes of this guideline is twenty years and not thirty years.".
Reason for Amendment: This amendment defines the term "offense statutory maximum" in §4B1.1 to mean the statutory maximum prior to any enhancement based on prior criminal record (i.e., an enhancement of the statutory maximum sentence that itself was based upon the defendant’s prior criminal record will not be used in determining the alternative offense level under this guideline). This rule avoids unwarranted double counting as well as unwarranted disparity associated with variations in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in seeking enhanced penalties based on prior convictions. It is noted that when the instruction to the Commission that underlies §4B1.1 (28 U.S.C. § 994(h)) was enacted by the Congress in 1984, the enhanced maximum sentences provided for recidivist drug offenders (e.g., under 21 U.S.C. § 841) did not exist.
Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 1994.