U.S. Sentencing Commission USSC

Before the 1980s, federal judges had broad discretion in sentencing, and sentences for similar crimes varied widely from judge to judge, while a parole board decided when most prisoners were released. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 abolished federal parole and created the Sentencing Commission to write binding guidelines, which took effect on November 1, 1987. The Supreme Court upheld the commission's unusual placement in the judicial branch in Mistretta v. United States in 1989.

The commission has seven voting members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for six-year terms. At least three must be federal judges and no more than four may belong to one party. The Attorney General or a designee and the chair of the Parole Commission serve as nonvoting members. It amends the guidelines each year, and amendments take effect on November 1 unless Congress acts to block them. It also collects and publishes data on every federal sentence.

In United States v. Booker in 2005, the Supreme Court held that mandatory guidelines violated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial and made them advisory, though judges must still calculate and consider them. The commission lacked a quorum from 2019 to 2022, preventing it from carrying out changes made by the First Step Act of 2018, until new members, chaired by Judge Carlton Reeves, were confirmed in August 2022.