Category: U.S. Sentencing Commission

Bloomberg News Quotes Mark Allenbaugh Regarding Sentencing Commission Policy Test in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

By Darren Kramer

Bloomberg Law asked our President and Chief Research Officer, Mark Allenbaugh, to weigh in on a significant legal challenge to the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s policy on compassionate release. This policy allows courts to consider nonretroactive changes in law when evaluating requests for sentence reductions, a critical tool for addressing outdated sentences. However, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argues that this policy exceeds the Commission’s statutory authority, claiming it effectively makes nonretroactive laws retroactive.

Read More

Post-Chevron: The End of Sentencing Guidelines: A New Era for Justice

By Darren Kramer

In their thought-provoking guest article in Law 360, “Post-Chevron, Good Riddance to the Sentencing Guidelines,” co-authors Mark Allenbaugh, Doug Passon, and Alan Ellis dive deep into the implications of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. This landmark case has effectively dismantled the long-standing Chevron doctrine, which traditionally granted deference to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

Read More

Federal Sentencing Commission JSIN “Judicial Sentencing Information” system and why it’s lacking

By Mark AllenbaughLeave a comment

The US Sentencing Commission created “JSIN” (sounds like “Jason”) as a resource for Judges who want to understand how defendants are really being sentenced under the guidelines. And, currently thirty-one federal jurisdictions are now incorporating JSIN data into the pre-sentence report. But, are the stats accurate? Could these numbers help or harm defendants? IN THIS

Read More