Chapter Five

Sentencing Table

The Sentencing Table used to determine the guideline range follows:

Commentary to Sentencing Table

Application Notes:

1. The Offense Level (1–43) forms the vertical axis of the SentencingTable. The Criminal History Category (I–VI) forms the horizontal axis ofthe Table. The intersection of the Offense Level and Criminal HistoryCategory displays the Guideline Range in months of imprisonment. “Life” means life imprisonment. For example, the guideline rangeapplicable to a defendant with an Offense Level of 15 and a CriminalHistory Category of III is 24–30 months of imprisonment.

2. In rare cases, a total offense level of less than 1 or more than 43may result from application of the guidelines. A total offense level ofless than 1 is to be treated as an offense level of 1. An offense levelof more than 43 is to be treated as an offense level of 43.

3. The Criminal History Category is determined by the total criminalhistory points from Chapter Four, Part A, except as provided in §4B1.1(Career Offender) and 4B1.4 (Armed Career Criminal). The total criminalhistory points associated with each Criminal History Category are shownunder each Criminal History Category in the Sentencing Table.

Introductory Commentary

The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 makes probation a sentence in and of itself. 18 U.S.C. § 3561. Probation may be used as an alternative to incarceration, provided that the terms and conditions of probation can be fashioned so as to meet fully the statutory purposes of sentencing, including promoting respect for law, providing just punishment for the offense, achieving general deterrence, and protecting the public from further crimes by the defendant.

Introductory Commentary

This Part addresses the relevance of certain specific offender characteristics in sentencing. The Sentencing Reform Act (the “Act”) contains several provisions regarding specific offender characteristics:

First, the Act directs the Commission to ensure that the guidelines and policy statements “are entirely neutral” as to five characteristics – race, sex, national origin, creed, and socioeconomic status. See 28 U.S.C. § 994(d).

Second, the Act directs the Commission to consider whether eleven specific offender characteristics, “among others”, have any relevance to the nature, extent, place of service, or other aspects of an appropriate sentence, and to take them into account in the guidelines and policy statements only to the extent that they do have relevance. See 28 U.S.C. § 994(d).

Third, the Act directs the Commission to ensure that the guidelines and policy statements, in recommending a term of imprisonment or length of a term of imprisonment, reflect the “general inappropriateness” of considering five of those characteristics – education; vocational skills; employment record; family ties and responsibilities; and community ties. See 28 U.S.C. § 994(e).

Fourth, the Act also directs the sentencing court, in determining the particular sentence to be imposed, to consider, among other factors, “the history and characteristics of the defendant”. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1).

Specific offender characteristics are taken into account in the guidelines in several ways. One important specific offender characteristic is the defendant’s criminal history, see 28 U.S.C. § 994(d)(10), which is taken into account in the guidelines in Chapter Four (Criminal History and Criminal Livelihood). See §5H1.8 (Criminal History). Another specific offender characteristic in the guidelines is the degree of dependence upon criminal history for a livelihood, see 28 U.S.C. § 994(d)(11), which is taken into account in Chapter One, Part A, Subpart 2 (Continuing Evolution and Role of the Guidelines); 28 U.S.C. § 994(o). The Commission expects, and the Sentencing Reform Act contemplates, that continuing research, experience, and analysis will result in modifications and revisions.

The nature, extent, and significance of specific offender characteristics can involve a range of considerations. The Commission will continue to provide information to the courts on the relevance of specific offender characteristics in sentencing, as the Sentencing Reform Act contemplates. See, e.g., 28 U.S.C. § 995(a)(12)(A) (the Commission serves as a “clearinghouse and information center” on federal sentencing). Among other things, this may include information on the use of specific offender characteristics, individually and in combination, in determining the sentence to be imposed (including, where available, information on rates of use, criteria for use, and reasons for use); the relationship, if any, between specific offender characteristics and (A) the “forbidden factors” specified in 28 U.S.C. § 994(d) and (B) the “discouraged factors” specified in 28 U.S.C. § 994(e); and the relationship, if any, between specific offender characteristics and the statutory purposes of sentencing.