United States Sentencing Commission

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United States Sentencing Commission
Agency overview
Formed1984
JurisdictionUnited States Judiciary
HeadquartersThurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building Washington, D.C.
Employees100
Agency executive
  • Charles R. Breyer, Acting Chairman
Websitewww.ussc.gov
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The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. federal government.[1] It is responsible for articulating the sentencing guidelines for the federal courts. The Commission promulgates the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which replaced the prior system of indeterminate sentencing that allowed trial judges to give sentences ranging from probation to the maximum statutory punishment for the offense. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

The commission was created by the Sentencing Reform Act provisions of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984.[1] The constitutionality of the commission was challenged as a congressional encroachment on the power of the executive but upheld by the Supreme Court in Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361 (1989).

The U.S. Sentencing Commission was established by Congress as a permanent, independent agency within the judicial branch.[1] The seven members of the Commission are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, for a term of six years.[1] Commission members may be reappointed to one additional term, also with the advice and consent of the Senate. Three of the members must be federal judges, and no more than four may belong to the same political party.[1] The Attorney General or his designee and the chair of the United States Parole Commission sit as ex officio, non-voting members of the Commission.[1]

Current membership[]

As of March 2021:

Title Member Occupation Date appointed Term expiration
Acting Chair Charles R. Breyer Senior Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of California March 21, 2017 October 31, 2021
Commissioner vacant – – –
Commissioner vacant – – –
Commissioner vacant – – –
Commissioner vacant – – –
Commissioner vacant – – –
Commissioner vacant – – –
(Ex officio Commissioner)
(non-voting) 		Patricia K. Cushwa Acting Chair, United States Parole Commission – –
(Ex officio Commissioner)
(non-voting)
(Attorney General's designee) 		Jonathan J. Wroblewski Director, Office of Policy and Legislation, U.S. Department of Justice – –

2015 actions[]

After a visit to a federal prison in Oklahoma by President Barack Obama in July 2015,[2] the Commission issued new retroactive sentencing guidelines in October which lowered sentences for many drug offenders. The sentencing panel estimated that roughly 46,000 of 100,000 drug offenders serving federal sentences would qualify for early release. 6,000 would be released in November but 1/3 of those inmates were to be turned over to I.C.E. for deportation proceedings.[3][4] The commission's change represents an overall change in prosecution of drug-related offences.[5] In response to the change, senators, in a bipartisan effort, are attempting to reduce minimum sentences for these offenses.[6]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "An Overview of the United States Sentencing Commission" (PDF). United States Sentencing Commission. United States Sentencing Commission. Archived from the original on 12 August 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2011.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "Obama Visits Federal Prison, A First For A Sitting President". Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  3. ^ "U.S. to release 6,000 federal prisoners - Washington Post". Archived from the original on 2015-10-27. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  4. ^ "U.S. to release 6,000 federal inmates as part of prison reform". 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  5. ^ "The US Is Going to Let Nearly 6,000 Drug Offenders Out of Federal Prison Early - VICE News". Archived from the original on 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  6. ^ Project, The Marshall (7 October 2015). "What You Need To Know About The New Federal Prisoner Release". Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via Huff Post.

External links[]

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