“The United States Sentencing Commission (“the Commission”) was created by the Sentencing Reform Act provisions of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. The Commission is an independent agency in the Judicial Branch of the federal government, with statutory duties that include but are not limited to:

• promulgating sentencing guidelines to be determined, calculated, and considered in all federal criminal cases;
• collecting sentencing data systematically to detect new criminal trends, to determine if federal crime policies are achieving their goals, and to serve as a clearinghouse for federal sentencing statistics;
• conducting research on sentencing issues and serving as an information center for the collection, preparation, and dissemination of information on federal sentencing practices; and
• providing specialized training to judges, probation officers, staff attorneys, law clerks, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other members of the federal criminal justice community on federal sentencing issues, including application of the guidelines.

The Commission sits at the intersection of all three branches of government and synthesizes the interests of the three branches to effectuate sound federal sentencing policy. Consistent with statutory guidance and Supreme Court case law, the Commission has continued to meet its core mission of promulgating new guidelines and guideline amendments in response to legislation, sentencing data, and information and feedback from sentencing courts, Congress, the Executive Branch, federal defenders, and others in the federal criminal justice system. In addition, the Commission is committed to delivering effective and specialized training on federal sentencing issues. Training provided by the Commission includes application and impact(s) of the guidelines, and is delivered to federal judges, probation officers, staff attorneys, law clerks, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and others.”

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