United States Sentencing Commission
The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the federal government of the United States.[1] It is responsible for articulating the sentencing guidelines for the United States 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).
Unlike many special-purpose "study" commissions within the executive branch, the U.S. Sentencing Commission was established by Congress as a permanent, independent agency within the judicial branch.[1] The seven voting members on the Commission are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and serve six-year terms.[1] Commission members may be reappointed to one additional term, also with the advice and consent of the Senate. At least three of the commissioners must be federal judges, and no more than four may belong to the same political party.[1] The United States Attorney General or his designee and the chair of the United States Parole Commission sit as ex officio members of the Commission.[1]
[edit] Current membership
The following table lists commissioners as of April 2010.
| Member | Occupation | Date appointed | Term expiration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patti B. Saris (Chair) |
Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts | December 22, 2010 | October 31, 2015† |
| William B. Carr, Jr. (Vice chair) |
Former United States Attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania | December 5, 2008 | October 31, 2011 |
| Ketanji Brown Jackson (Vice chair) |
Attorney, Morrison & Foerster | February 11, 2010 | October 31, 2013 |
| Ricardo H. Hinojosa (Commissioner) |
Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas | June 26, 2003 | October 31, 2013† |
| Beryl A. Howell (Commissioner) |
Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia | November 21, 2004 | October 31, 2011† |
| Dabney Friedrich (Commissioner) |
Former White House Assistant Counsel | March 1, 2007 | October 31, 2015 |
| Isaac Fulwood (Ex-officio) |
Chair, United States Parole Commission | —— | —— |
| Jonathan J. Wroblewski (Ex-officio) |
Director of the Office of Policy and Legislation, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
—— | —— |
† Date second term expires, after which the commissioner may not be reappointed.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f "An Overview of the United States Sentencing Commission" (PDF). United States Sentencing Commission. United States Sentencing Commission. http://www.ussc.gov/About_the_Commission/Overview_of_the_USSC/USSC_Overview.pdf. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
[edit] External links
- United States Sentencing Commission
- Interviews with first four Commission Chairs
- From the Hill to the Court to the Commission (Interview with Commission Chair Patti Saris, The Third Branch Sept. 2011)
- Significant Dates and Decisions in the History of the Sentencing Guidelines
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