WHAT ARE THE FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES AND WHY ARE THEY SO STRICT?
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines were set out in the Sentencing Reform Act over twenty years ago. They are a complicated system that weighs the seriousness of particular crimes and also assigns specific values to "relevant conduct" and criminal history to mathematically produce a (now advisory) sentencing range. It has failed in the goal of providing consistency and uniformity in sentencing throughout the United States because of the way Courts have interpreted the guidelines, the disparity of treatment of certain crimes and conduct, and numerous policies of local U.S. Attorneys. It is critical for you to know that your punishment range is based upon highly complex mathematical formulas and case law which take years to master. If your attorney cannot automatically cite to you the various provisions of the sentencing guidelines which should apply to your case, he probably is not the person you need representing you in a Federal court.
Also, under the Guidelines a person who pleads guilty will generally get a lighter sentence than a person who goes to trial. This is not always true, however, because there are many cases where the Government charges more than they can prove - so it benefits the you to go to trial to "separate the wheat from the chaff." Again, as tempting as it is, don't automatically trust your Federal plea decision to the person who did a family member's divorce. It takes years of Federal experience to figure out guidelines calculations and your actual exposure in Federal court. It takes even more time to understand the strategies of the U.S. Attorneys' office, their motivations and priorities, and to weigh the evidence in your case versus the criminal statute and burden of proof.
Also, appeals in Federal cases are limited by your plea agreement. If you plead guilty, the U.S. Attorney will often try to get you to waive your right to appeal. But if you agree to waive your appeal, improper sentencing calculations harmful to you cannot usually be reviewed by the appellate court. Therefore, it is often better to plead to the indictment without a plea bargain unless the Government is truly giving up something in exchange for your plea. This is where an experienced Federal attorney is necessary to determine if an appeal waiver is beneficial and whether guidelines calculations are made correctly. If your lawyer messes it up, it will not usually be corrected on appeal. Ineffective assistance of counsel claims are rarely reviewable on direct appeal regardless. Again, review your potential attorney's credentials.