The U.S. Sentencing Commission wants Congress to enact legislation that would address "troubling trends in sentencing" since the Supreme Court's ruling in Booker in 2005 that made federal sentencing guidelines advisory, not mandatory.
U.S. District Judge Patti Saris (MA), the chair of the Sentencing Commission, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on October 12 about the state of federal sentencing since the Supreme Court ruling six years ago.
"While sentencing data and case law demonstrate that the federal sentencing guidelines continue to provide gravitational pull in federal sentencing, the Commission has observed an increase in the numbers of variances from the guidelines," Sarris said. "There are troubling trends in sentencing, including growing disparities among circuits and districts and demographic disparities which the Commission has been evaluating."
Saris said the Commission suggested Congress take specific steps, including these:
• Enact a more robust appellate review standard that requires appellate courts to apply a presumption of reasonableness to sentences within the properly calculated guidelines range.
• Require that judges offer greater justification the greater they vary from a guideline.
• Create a heightened standard of review for sentences imposed as a result of a "policy disagreement" with the guidelines.
The Justice Department did not provide testimony at the hearing.
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