Restoring Judicial Discretion

Abstract

As an 18 year veteran of the Federal Probation System I have personally experienced the changes caused by implementation of the guidelines. I was sworn-in as Chief Probation Officer for the District of Connecticut in late June 1987 and attended a national conference for CPOs two days later. It became clear to me within a few hours that my primary focus would be sentencing guidelines. Much of the conference was dedicated to guideline applica tion and tips on how to implement the new system in our respective districts. The purpose of sentencing reform was indeed commendable: to achieve certainty and fairness in sentencing by reducing unwarranted disparity in criminal sentences. Sentencing guidelines have now been in effect for more than five years. Yet our limited experience with the guidelines has reaffirmed my initial con cerns, as well as those of our district judges, regarding the ability of the guideline system to achieve its purpose and the possible devastating impact guidelines could have on the federal courts.