АҚШ Федералдық Сот Төреліктері Комиссиясы

Independent agency of the U. S. federal judiciary which determines sentencing guidelines

The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the U. S. federal government. It is responsible for articulating the U. S. Federal 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. Commission members may be reappointed to one additional term, also with the advice and consent of the Senate. Some Commission members have been appointed to finish out the term of prior members instead of starting their own 6 year term, and therefore, not all Commission members have served six years or more. Three of the members must be federal judges, and no more than four may belong to the same political party. The Commission lacked full membership from 2014 to 2022. On August 4, 2022, the Senate confirmed President Biden's seven nominees to the Commission; all the confirmed members were sworn in the next day.

As listed on the U. S. Sentencing Commission's website:
+Former Members of the U. S. Sentencing CommissionTitleMemberOccupationDate appointedTerm expirationChairmanWilliam W. Wilkins, Jr. Judge, U. S. District Circuit, South Carolina; subsequently elevated to U. S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit19851994Stephen G. BreyerJudge, U. S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit (later Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)19851989George E. MacKinnonSenior Judge, U. S. Court of Appeals, D. C. Circuit19851991Ilene H. NagelProfessor of Law and Sociology, Indiana University School of Law19851994Helen G. CorrothersMember, U. S. Parole Commission19851991Michael K. BlockProfessor of Law and Economics, University of Arizona19851989Paul H. RobinsonProfessor of Law, Rutgers Law School19851988Vice Chair 1994–1996A. David MazzoneJudge, U. S. District Court, D. Massachusetts19901996Julie E. CarnesAssistant U. S. Attorney, N. D. Georgia. Subsequently was appointed as a federal district court judge for the Northern District of Georgia and continued to serve on the Commission. )19901996Vice Chair 1994–1998Michael S. GelacakAttorney, McNair Firm, Washington, D. C.19901998Chairman, 1994–1998Richard P. ConaboySenior Judge, U. S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania19941998Deanell R. TachaJudge, U. S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit19941998Vice Chair, 1995–97 (holdover status ended 10/21/98)Michael GoldsmithProfessor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School19941998Wayne A. BuddAttorney, Goodwin, Procter & Hoar, Boston, MA19941997Joe KendallJudge, U. S. District Court, N. D. Texas19992002Sterling Johnson, Jr. Judge, U. S. District Court, E. D. New York19992002Chair, 1999–2004Diana E. MurphyJudge, U. S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit19992004Michael E. O’NeillAssistant Professor, George Mason University School of Law19992005Vice Chair, 1999 – 2007John R. SteerGeneral Counsel, U. S. Sentencing Commission19992007Michael E. HorowitzAttorney, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Washington, DC20032008Chair, 2009–2010; Vice Chair, 1999–2009William K. Sessions IIIJudge and later elevated to Chief Judge, U. S. District Court, District of Vermont19992010Vice Chair, 1999–2010Ruben CastilloJudge, U. S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois19992010Beryl A. HowellExecutive Managing Director and General Counsel, Stroz Friedberg, LLC, Washington, DC; subsequently appointed to the U. S. District Court, District of Columbia and later Chief Judge.20042012Vice Chair, 2008–2012William B. Carr, Jr. Adjunct Professor of Law, Widener Law School, Wilmington, DE20082012Chair, 2003–2010; Vice Chair, 2011–2014Ricardo H. HinojosaJudge and later Chief Judge, U. S. District Court, Southern District of Texas20032014Vice Chair, 2010–2014Ketanji Brown JacksonAttorney, Morrison & Foerster LLP, later appointed to Judge, U. S. District Court, District of Columbia; later appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States20102014Dabney L. FriedrichAssociate Counsel, Office of Counsel to the President, Washington, DC, later appointed to Judge, U. S. District Court, District of Columbia2006 according to USSC (February 28, 2007 according to Congress. gov)2016Chair, December 22, 2010 2016Patti B. SarisJudge and later Chief Judge, U. S. District Court, District of MassachusettsDecember 22, 20102016Acting Chair, January 3, 2017 2018William H. Pryor Jr. Judge, U. S. Circuit Court, Eleventh Circuit Court of AppealsJune 6, 20132018Rachel E. BarkowSegal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy, New York University School of LawJune 20132018 according to USSC (January 2019 according to NYU Law)Danny C. ReevesJudge, and later Chief Judge, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of KentuckyMarch 21, 2017March 2021

On April 10, 2014, the Commission unanimously voted to approve the "Drugs Minus Two Amendment." The "Drugs Minus Two Amendment" changed the U. S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines to "reduce the applicable sentencing guideline range for most federal drug trafficking offenses." 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. The commission's change represents an overall change in prosecution of drug related offences. In response to the change, senators, in a bipartisan effort, are attempting to reduce minimum sentences for these offenses.

In April 2021, the Judicial Conference of the United States sent the following candidate suggestions to President Biden: Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo (to represent a Democrat seat), Judge Denise Jefferson Casper (Democrat seat), Judge Abdul Kallon (Democrat seat), Judge Carol Bagley Amon (Republican seat), Judge Federico Moreno (Republican seat), and Judge Michael Seabright (Republican seat).

On April 20, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated William K. Sessions III, of Vermont, to be Chair of the Commission. On July 23, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to be a Commissioner. On April 28, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Patti B. Saris as Commissioner and Chair, and nominated Dabney Langhorne Friedrich as a Commissioner (for a second term). In April 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Senior District Judge Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California as a Commissioner. In April 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Rachel Elise Barkow, of New York, to be a Member of the United States Sentencing Commission; Charles R. Breyer, of California, to be a Member of the United States Sentencing Commission; and William H. Pryor Jr., of Alabama, to be a Member of the United States Sentencing Commission. On September 9, 2015, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Richard F. Boulware and Judge Charles R. Breyer as Commissioners. On March 15, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Danny C. Reeves as a Commissioner. On January 17, 2017, President Barack Obama nominated Charles R. Breyer for reappointment and Danny C. Reeves as a Commissioner.

In March of 2018, President Donald Trump said he intended to nominate four candidates to the Commission: "Judge William Pryor of Alabama, Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo of Pennsylvania, Judge Henry Hudson of Virginia and Georgetown University law professor William Graham Otis." On August 12, 2020, President Donald Trump nominated five individuals to join the Sentencing Commission: Judge K. Michael Moore, of Florida, as Chairman of the United States Sentencing Commission; Judge Claria Horn Boom, of Kentucky, as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission; Judge Henry E. Hudson, of Virginia, as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission; John G. Malcolm (Vice President for the Institute for Constitutional Government and the Director of the Meese Center for Legal & Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation), as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission; and Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo, of Pennsylvania, as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission.