U.S. Sentencing Commission
Federal Law and Supreme Court Interpretation
The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, which established the United States Sentencing Commission and authorized it to issue sentencing guidelines, brought about striking changes in Federal sentencing law. Sentencing under earlier law was considered inconsistent and uncertain. Different Federal statutes set different maximum penalties for the same crime committed under different jurisdictional circumstances. At the same time, Federal judges enjoyed virtually unlimited discretion to impose any sentence beneath the maximum established by statute. Once imposed, sentences were ordinarily beyond appellate review. Moreover, time actually served was a product of the parole laws. A Federal prisoner, in spite of a facially…
