The Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

VII. U.S. Federal Fair
Sentencing Guidelines
The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules that set out a uniform
policy for sentencing individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious
(Class A) misdemeanors in the United States federal courts system. The Guidelines do
not apply to less serious misdemeanors.
Although the Guidelines were initially styled as mandatory, the US Supreme Court's
2005 decision in United States v. Booker held that the Guidelines, as originally
constituted, violated the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury, and the remedy chosen
was to excise those provisions of the law establishing the Guidelines as mandatory.
After Booker and other Supreme Court cases, such as Blakely v. Washington (2004),
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