U.S. Sentencing Guidelines: A Handbook for Criminal Trials by U.S. Judges

Author: Lü Zhongmei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: In criminal trials, sentencing is one of the fundamental tasks of judges. Based on the facts established by case evidence, after making a judgment on "guilt or innocence," criminal judges impose appropriate penalties on guilty defendants, which is a crucial part of the case adjudication process. This book is one of the judge's trial skills training series, the sentencing policy formulated by the U.S. Sentencing Commission for the U.S. federal court system, a summary of criminal trial experience in the United States, and aims to regulate the "freedom" of sentencing discretion through criminal policy. Translating it and including it as one of the series can provide Chinese judges with models and references for theoretical research and judicial practice, playing an active role in the establishment and improvement of China's sentencing discretion system.
The Sentencing Guidelines were provided by the "U.S. Sentencing Commission," a congressional agency established by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, after review by Congress and applied in the U.S. federal court system. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 clearly stipulates that the gradual improvement of the guidelines will further strengthen the purpose of punishing crimes, deterring crime, incapacitating criminals, punishing crime fairly, and helping offenders reintegrate into society. The Act grants the U.S. Sentencing Commission broad authority to review and reasonably handle federal sentencing procedures. The Sentencing Commission is an independent body in the U.S. judicial system, composed of 7 voting and 2 non-voting non-official members. Its main tasks are to establish sentencing policies and guide sentencing practices for the U.S. federal criminal justice system, ensuring justice is upheld by formulating specific guidelines for proportionate sentencing.