Understanding Federal Sentencing Factors and Departures in NYC

Understanding Federal Sentencing Factors and Departures in NYC

If your facing federal charges in NYC, sentencing can be real confusing. This article breaks down the key things to know about federal sentencing guidelines, factors judges consider, and reasons a judge might “depart” from the guidelines.

Federal Sentencing Guidelines

The US Sentencing Commission issues advisory guidelines that recommend sentencing ranges based on the crime, criminal history, and other factors. But there’s a lot of flexibility built into the system.

The guidelines get pretty complicated real quick. But basically, every federal crime gets assigned a “base offense level” under the guidelines. Things like:

• The amount of financial loss or drugs involved
• Whether weapons were used
• The number of victims

Can increase the offense level and push the guideline sentence higher. For example, federal fraud charges start at level 7 but can go up to level 36 for huge financial frauds.

Then the defendant’s criminal history score adds points based on past convictions. More points equals a higher “criminal history category” pushing the sentence higher. So the final guideline range depends on both offense level and criminal history.

Sentencing Factors Judges Consider

But the guidelines are just the starting point. Congress requires judges to consider other things like:

• The nature and circumstances of the offense
• The history and characteristics of the defendant
• The need to reflect the seriousness of the crime and promote respect for the law
• Deterrence, public safety, education/training/treatment, and restitution for victims
• Consistency in sentencing

Defense lawyers argue these “sentencing factors” support a lower sentence than the guidelines recommend. Prosecutors argue the opposite. Judges have a lot of discretion deciding what sentence best serves justice.

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Departures from the Guidelines

Judges can also “depart” from the guidelines in some cases. Upward departures make the sentence harsher. Downward departures make it more lenient. Common reasons include:

Downward Departures

• Substantial Assistance: Defendant provides useful cooperation against other offenders
• Overstated criminal history: Guidelines over-represent the defendant’s actual past crimes
• Exceptional family ties/responsibilities: Incarceration would cause extreme hardship for dependents
• Physical condition: Defendant has an extraordinary physical impairment
• Mental condition: Defendant committed the crime under duress or diminished mental capacity
• Aberrant behavior: Extremely out of character for the defendant

Upward Departures

• Understated criminal history: Past crimes more severe than guidelines reflect
• Extreme psychological injury: Victim suffered unusually severe mental harm
• Extreme conduct: Defendant’s behavior was unusually heinous, cruel, brutal or degrading

There’s no magic formula. Sentencing involves a lot of subjective judgment. An experienced federal criminal defense lawyer guides clients through the process to get the fairest outcome possible.

The stakes are always high. Federal sentences tend to be long. Getting the charges right and presenting the best mitigating factors is critical. For a free consult with a top federal defense lawyer in NYC, visit [Your Website Link]

Citations

United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual, §2B1.1 (2018)

United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual, §5K (2018)