Guideline Tricks & Treats: A Rundown of All New Sentencing Guideline Amendments That Took Effect on 11/1/23

The day after Halloween, all of the proposed guideline changes went into effect!  We've talked about many of them in detail on previous podcasts, but here, we do a quick run-through of all eigiht categories of amendments.  So what's in our candy bags the day after?  Well, in truth, most of what we got were TREATS, but we have a few TRICKS as well.   There's plenty to love here, but there are also a few catagories of offenses that could result in increased guideline calculations.  

Helping us get Set for Sentencing, our returning champion, guidelines guru Mark Allenbaugh to help run through all of it. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The EIGHT categories of guidelines changes that went into effect on 11/1/23
• Some practical tips and tricks for dealing with them: 
  • Compassionate release (treat)
  • Criminal History (treat)
  • Acceptance of Responsibility (treat)
  • New enhancement under the firearms guideline (trick)
  • Career Offender guidelines (trick)
  • Safety Valve (treat, but a lame circus peanut cleanup treat)
  • Fentanyl enhancement (another weak treat)
  • Sexual Abuse of a Ward Enhancement (it’s a trick for the staff of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, who seem to have a sexual abuse problem in their facilities, and most definitely a treat for their many victims.)

• Why the commission is starting to move “commentary” into the guideline itself, in order to bypass new law (Kisor) that renders commentary non-binding on judges.
• If you have a case involving INTENDED LOSS under the fraud guidelines, be aware of the Kisor argument that gives you a solid argument (in some circuits) that there’s no such thing as “intended loss”;
• The connection between the Sexual Abuse of a Ward enhancement and the new expanded grounds for Compassionate release, and some practical tips for inmates who are victims of abuse in prison.

OTHER PODCAST EPISODES WORTH CHECKING OUT:

IMPERFECT 10 - Beware criterion 10 of the Zero Point Offender provision that seems to preclude the 2-level reduction where a person previously received a "role enhancment".  Don't give up so easily on this issue!

https://setforsentencing.com/podcast/imperfect10/

GOIN' RETRO:  RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF ZERO POINT OFFENDER AMENDMENT:

https://setforsentencing.com/podcast/goin-retro-retroactive-application-of-zpo-and-status-point-amendments/

The First ZERO POINT OFFENDER PODCAST:  THE ZIPPO IS ON FIRE!

https://setforsentencing.com/podcast/zippo/