United States Sentencing Commission
The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the Judicial Branch of the United States Government and is responsible for the policy of the sentencing 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.
The commission was created by the Sentencing Reform Act provisions of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. The Constitutionality of the commission was challenged as a congressional encroachment on the power of the executive branch but upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Mistretta v. United States, . Unlike many special purpose “study” commissions within the executive branch, Congress established the U.S. Sentencing Commission as a permanent, independent agency within the judicial branch. The seven voting members on the Commission are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and serve six-year terms. Commission members may be re-appointed to further terms with the consent of the Senate. No more than three of the commissioners may be federal judges and no more than four may belong to the same political party. The Attorney General is an ex officio member of the Commission, as is the chair of the U.S. Parole Commission.
Current membership
The following table lists commissioners as of January 2007.
| Member | Occupation | Date appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Ricardo H. Hinojosa (Chair) | Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas | June 26, 2003 |
| Ruben Castillo (Vice chair) | Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois | November 12, 1999 |
| William K. Sessions III (Vice chair) | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont | November 12, 1999 |
| John R. Steer (Vice chair) | Former general counsel, United States Sentencing Commission | November 12, 1999 |
| Dabney Friedrich (Commissioner) | Former White House Assistant Counsel | March 1, 2007 |
| Beryl A. Howell (Commissioner) | Managing Director, Stroz Friedberg, LLC | November 21, 2004 |
| Michael E. Horowitz (Commissioner) | Partner, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft | June 26, 2003 |
| Benton J. Campbell (Ex-officio) | Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division | |
| Edward F. Reilly, Jr. (Ex-officio) | Chair, U.S. Parole Commission |
External links
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