U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Federal sentencing guidelines, administered by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, are advisory and can be amended once a year. If a person is convicted of a crime that does not have a mandatory minimum, the court consults the guidelines to determine an appropriate sentencing range. Because the guidelines are advisory, the court does not have to follow them if it determines that the guidelines range recommends doesn't fit the offender and the crime.

Some of FAMM's greatest victories have been improvements to the federal sentencing guidelines. FAMM works to make federal sentencing guidelines fairer and more proportionate. Learn more about the guidelines and our efforts.

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines news and updates

Read up on the most recent changes to the Commission and the guidelines.

Crack retroactivity

Learn more about the Commission's crack guideline changes and other possible reforms in 2011. Read our answers to frequently asked questions about the 2011 Retroactive Crack Guideline Amendment.

Booker and the Guidelines

Learn about the ground-breaking Booker case and how it made the federal sentencing guidelines advisory.

U.S. Sentencing Commission website

Learn about the Commission; read sentencing guideline manuals, find sentencing data, and learn about changes to the guidelines.

FAMM factsheets:

Federal sentencing guideline amendments in a nutshell

From the U.S. Sentencing Commission:

Report to Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalities in the Federal Criminal Justice System (2011)

Background on the Commission and Sentencing Guidelines

Recidivism Data on the 2007 Crack Amendment

Data on Retroactive Application - 2007 Crack Amendment

2010 Annual Report