2020 Guideline Application Frequencies

Introduction

The following four comprehensive data tables provide information on guideline application during fiscal year 2020. The Commission received information concerning 64,565 cases in which the offender was sentenced in fiscal year 2020, of which 59,255 contained complete guideline information. "Complete guideline information" means that the Commission received the following sentencing documents for each case: the Judgment and Commitment Order, the Statement of Reasons, and the Presentence Report.

The first table, Use of Guidelines and Specific Offense Characteristics (Guideline-Based Analysis), details the use of each guideline, alternative base offense level, and specific offense characteristic (SOC) for that year. The second table, Chapter Three Adjustments (Guideline-Based Analysis), provides the number and percentage of Chapter Three adjustments for each guideline. These tables include information on all guideline applications for the 59,255 cases with complete guideline information. In cases with multiple guideline calculations, each guideline calculation is included separately in the analysis.

The next set of tables provides similar information but on an offender-by-offender basis. Use of Guidelines and Specific Offense Characteristics (Offender Based Analysis), provides an analysis of the primary guideline applied by the court in each case, including any alternative base offense level and SOC for that guideline. In case with more than one guideline calculation, the primary guideline is the guideline that resulted in the final offense level that the court applied when determining the sentence. Data relating to the application of guideline provisions that were not the primary guideline in the case are not included. Chapter Three Adjustments (Offender Based Analysis), provides the number and percentage of the Chapter Three adjustments for the primary guideline applied in each case.

These tables include information on cases in which the offender was sentenced in fiscal year 2020 but where the court used the 2018 Guidelines Manual or a prior version of the Guidelines Manual. The inclusion of data from multiple versions of the Guidelines Manual occurs because in any fiscal year courts may apply earlier versions of the Guidelines Manual depending on the facts of the case. See USSG §1B1.11 (Use of Guidelines Manual in Effect on Date of Sentencing (Policy Statement)).