AMENDMENT 270

Amendment: Chapter Five, Part A, is amended in the Sentencing Table by deleting "0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, and 0-5" wherever it appears, and inserting in each instance "0-6".

Chapter Five, Part A, is amended in the Sentencing Table by inserting "(in months of imprisonment)" immediately under the title "Sentencing Table", by inserting "(Criminal History Points)" immediately following the caption "Criminal History Category", and by enclosing in parentheses each of the six sets of criminal history points displayed under that caption.

Reason for Amendment: This amendment provides that the maximum of the guideline range is six months wherever the minimum of the guideline range is zero months. The court has discretion to impose a sentence of up to 6 months imprisonment for a Class B misdemeanor (Class B or C misdemeanors and infractions are not covered by the guidelines; see §1B1.9). It appears anomalous that the Commission guidelines allow less discretion for certain felonies and Class A misdemeanors. In fact, in certain cases, a plea to a reduced charge of a Class B misdemeanor could result in a higher potential sentence because the sentence for the felony or Class A misdemeanor might be restricted to less than 6 months by the guidelines. This can happen when the Sentencing Table provides a guideline range of 0-1 month, 0-2 months, 0-3, 0-4, or 0-5 months. These very narrow ranges are not required by statute, which allows a 6 month guideline range in such cases. This anomaly is removed by amending the guideline table to provide that whenever the lower limit of the guideline range is 0 months, the upper limit of the guideline range is six months.

In addition, this amendment makes minor editorial improvements to the title and caption of the Sentencing Table.

Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 1989.