Introduction
The materials contained herein are basically two comprehensive data tables. The first, entitled Use of Guidelines and Specific Offense Characteristics: Fiscal Year 2003, details the use of each guideline, alternative base offense level, and Specific Offense Characteristic (SOC) in Fiscal Year 2003. The second, entitled Chapter Three Adjustments, Use of Specific Offense Characteristics, Upward Departures and Trial Rates: Fiscal Year 2003, gives the number and percentage of cases involving the use of the pertinent guidelines sections.
During fiscal year 2003, 70,258 cases were received by the Commission, of which, 58,463 (83.2 percent) contained complete guideline information. This latter term, “complete guideline information” means the following documents were part of the submitted record: the Statement of Reasons, the Presentence Report and the Judgment and Conviction Order. These tables include information on all guideline calculations performed on the 58,463 cases with complete guideline information. Therefore in cases with multiple guideline calculations, each guideline calculation is included in the analysis.
Cases sentenced in any fiscal year include guideline applications from several amendment years. This occurs due to the guidelines policy statement governing which guideline is applicable at the time of sentencing. See USSG §1B1.11, p.s., Use of Guidelines Manual in Effect on Date of Sentencing. The analysis contained in these tables use the actual guideline under which the offender was sentenced. For example, though §2F1.1 (Fraud and Deceit) was consolidated into another guideline, a number of cases were sentenced using this guideline in FY 2003. As a result, the tables contain a reference to §2F1.1, which was applied 2,194 times, but no longer exists as a stand alone guideline.
Use of Guidelines and Specific Offense Characteristics: Fiscal Year 2003