2005 Federal Sentencing Guidelines
CHAPTER SEVEN - PART A - INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER SEVEN
§6B1.4. Stipulations (Policy
Statement)
(a) A plea agreement may be accompanied by a written stipulation of facts
relevant to sentencing. Except to the extent that a party may be privileged
not to disclose certain information, stipulations shall:
(1) set forth the relevant facts and circumstances of the actual offense
conduct and offender characteristics;
(2) not contain misleading facts; and
(3) set forth with meaningful specificity the reasons why the sentencing
range resulting from the proposed agreement is appropriate.
(b) To the extent that the parties disagree about any facts relevant to sentencing,
the stipulation shall identify the facts that are in dispute.
(c) A district court may, by local rule, identify categories of cases for
which the parties are authorized to make the required stipulation orally, on
the record, at the time the plea agreement is offered.
(d) The court is not bound by the stipulation, but may with the aid of the
presentence report, determine the facts relevant to sentencing.
Commentary
This provision requires that when a plea agreement includes a stipulation
of fact, the stipulation must fully and accurately disclose all factors relevant
to the determination of sentence. This provision does not obligate the parties
to reach agreement on issues that remain in dispute or to present the court
with an appearance of agreement in areas where agreement does not exist. Rather,
the overriding principle is full disclosure of the circumstances of the actual
offense and the agreement of the parties. The stipulation should identify all
areas of agreement, disagreement and uncertainty that may be relevant to the
determination of sentence. Similarly, it is not appropriate for the parties
to stipulate to misleading or non-existent facts, even when both parties are
willing to assume the existence of such "facts" for purposes of the litigation.
Rather, the parties should fully disclose the actual facts and then explain
to the court the reasons why the disposition of the case should differ from
that which such facts ordinarily would require under the guidelines.
Because of the importance of the stipulations and the potential complexity
of the factors that can affect the determination of sentences, stipulations
ordinarily should be in writing. However, exceptions to this practice may be
allowed by local rule. The Commission intends to pay particular attention to
this aspect of the plea agreement procedure as experience under the guidelines
develops. See Commentary to §6A1.2
(Disclosure of Presentence Report; Issues in Dispute).
Section 6B1.4(d) makes clear that the court is not obliged to accept the
stipulation of the parties. Even though stipulations are expected to be accurate
and complete, the court cannot rely exclusively upon stipulations in ascertaining
the factors relevant to the determination of sentence. Rather, in determining
the factual basis for the sentence, the court will consider the stipulation,
together with the results of the presentence investigation, and any other relevant
information.
Historical Note: Effective
November 1, 1987.