When facing serious charges in the US District (Federal) Court, understanding how to calculate your potential sentence is an important part of gaining & maintaining your sanity. Unfortunately, the task seems daunting. While this will not guarantee a sentence, it should help get you in the ballpark
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Obtain an Up-to-Date Copy of the United States Sentencing Guideline’s (USSG) Manual
You may look at and download the latest edition of the USSG at http://www.ussc.gov/2007guid/GL2007.pdf. It is free. There is a link below.
2
Look up Your Criminal Charge in the Table of Contents
Look into the Table of Contents. Chapter 2 lists categories of crimes and groups them. For example, if you are charged with embezzlement your charge would be found in Chapter 2, Part B (Basic Economic Offenses) under Section 2B1.1
3
Determine Your Criminal Charge’s Base USSG Level of Conduct Points
Every Charge has a base Conduct Point level. Embezzlement for example has a base Conduct Point level of 6 points under Chapter 2 Part B Section 2B1.1(a)(2).
4
Calculate Your Case’s Sentencing Enhancements Based on the Specific Characteristics of Your Case
Many crimes have enhancements. The Table at Chapt. 2 Part B Section 2B1.1 (b) (1) is used to enhance all basic economic loss. Follow the directions in the table and add the appropriate point total to the base level as determined in Step 3 above.
Hence if you are charged with stealing Fifty Thousand ($50,000) Dollars from work, you would have a base level of 6 points (Step 3) and an enhancement of 6 points for a total of 12 Conduct Points.
5
Determine Whether There Are Any Aggravating Circumstances that Would Enhance the Point Total
Chapter 3 contains a list of adjustments that will increase point totals above. Aggravating factors include but are not limited to the age of the victim and the relationship between the accused and the victim, use of a minor to commit the crime etc. A list of factors can be found in Chapter 3 of the Manual.
If there are aggravating , then add points as instructed.
Using our Embezzlement example, if the accused is an accountant, and he used his position of trust to advance his scheme to embezzle, then there would be an aggravating increase of 2 points (See Chapter 3 part B Section 3B1.3).
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