voluntary disclosure of offense
A person’s uncoerced admission to an undiscovered crime. • Under the federal sentencing guidelines, a lighter sentence may be allowed. See USSG 5K2.16.
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Search Results for: FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES
victim related adjustment
victim-related adjustment. An increase in punishment available under federal sentencing guidelines when the defendant knew or should have known that the victim bore a particular characteristic — e.g., the victim was unusually vulnerable (because of age or condition) — or was otherwise particularly susceptible to the criminal conduct. See USSG §§ 3A1.1, 1. 2.
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minimal participant
minimal participant. Criminal law. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, a defendant who is among the least culpable of a group of criminal actors, as when the defendant does not understand the scope or structure of the criminal enterprise or the actions of the other members of the group. • The offense level for a crime
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upward departure
In the federal sentencing guidelines, a court’s imposition of a sentence harsher than the standard guidelines propose, as when the court concludes that a criminal’s history did not take into account additional offenses committed while the prisoner was out on bail. [Cases: Sentencing and Punishment 814. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 1479, 1526.]
aberrant behavior
aberrant behavior (a-ber-[schwa]nt). A single act of unplanned or thoughtless criminal behavior. • Many courts have held that aberrant behavior justifies a downward departure — that is, a more lenient sentence — under the federal sentencing guidelines, based on a comment in the introduction to the Guidelines Manual to the effect that the guidelines do
minor participant
minor participant. Criminal law. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, a defendant who is less culpable for a crime than the other members of the group committing the crime, but who has more culpability than a minimal participant. • A defendant who is a minor participant can have the offense level for the crime decreased by
career offender
Under the federal-sentencing guidelines, an adult who, after being convicted of two violent felonies or controlled-substance felonies, commits another such felony. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1.