With apologies for the delay, I will through this post provide some hints and help for sentencing Rob Anon under the modern federal sentencing guidelines. I will begin with a few links to the "official" on-line version of the now-applicable US Sentencing Guidelines as provided on the US Sentencing Commission's website:
- USSG § 1B1.1: Application Instructions
- USSG § 2B3.1: Robbery
- USSG § 3B1.1: Aggravating Role
- USSG § 4A1.1: Criminal History Category
I highly encourage class members to start working through these "basic" federal guideline sentencing materials on their own (and then use the comments to express frustration) before looking for any more sentencing help. That said, if (when?) you want/need some more help, here is a link to a worksheet created by the US Sentencing Commission intended to aid in the guideline sentencing process:
If (when?) you still want/need still more help, a bit of effective google sluething should help you track down a free U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines calculator that was developed by a lawyer eager to help lawyers do quick and dirty guideline calculations for their clients. Unfortunately, that calculator does not appear to be updated after 2011, so I cannot vouch for its accuracy circa 2014.
As you work through this assignment (especially as it carries into the Spring Break), please feel free and encourage to express your perspective on what it feels like to sentence in the federal system now that a whole lot of law has been brought into the process.
Sentencing Class @ OSU Moritz College of Law 
2 responses to “Hints and help for federal guidelines sentencing of Rob Anon”
Did anyone happen to see something in the guidelines giving guidance as to whether we should be counting Rob Anon’s juvenile sentence as a prior sentence to determine his Criminal History Category?
I was under the impression that the general philosophy of the juvenile system is that being adjudicated delinquent isn’t suppose to have significant implications later in life. However, there doesn’t seem to be any language I’m finding in the guidelines saying to ignore juvenile offenses.
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Look in the commentary that is included in the link for criminal history category. It depends on whether the juvenile sentence falls under 4A1.1(a), (b), (c), (d), or (e).
For example, if the juvenile sentence falls under 4A1.1(a) (prior sentence of imprisonment exceeding one year and one month), then: “A sentence imposed for an offense committed prior to the defendant’s eighteenth birthday is counted under this subsection only if it resulted from an adult conviction. See §4A1.2(d).”
However, if the juvenile sentence is less than one year and one month, but at least sixty days of imprisonment, then: “An adult or juvenile sentence imposed for an offense committed prior to the defendant’s eighteenth birthday is counted only if confinement resulting from such sentence extended into the five-year period preceding the defendant’s commencement of the instant offense. See §4A1.2(d).”
And if the sentence did not include imprisonment, or was less than 60 days, then: “An adult or juvenile sentence imposed for an offense committed prior to the defendant’s eighteenth birthday is counted only if imposed within five years of the defendant’s commencement of the current offense. See §4A1.2(d).”
Hope this helps!
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