2nd Quarter 2014 Sentencing Trends

The first three months in 2014 marked the first time since the advent of the Guidelines in 1987 that fewer than half of the sentences (49%) imposed in federal criminal cases were “within-guideline” sentences. The second quarter data is now released and that trend is continuing, but that doesn’t necessarily equate with lower sentences. You see, the outside the guideline range sentencing practice continued in the second quarter because of the record high number of above-guideline sentences (2.5%) and government-sponsored below-guideline sentences (28.6%).

http://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/federal-sentencing-statistics/quarterly-sentencing-updates/USSC-2014-Quarter-Report-2nd.pdf

““