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1 1 (July 5, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/govepls0001 and id is 1 raw text is: The U.S. Sentencing Commission Seeks to Limit the Use of Acquitted Conduct in Federal Sentencing Updated July 5, 2024 Consider a defendant who is a part of a group that robs a pharmacy. In a dispute about how to divide up the proceeds, one of the robbers kills another in the group. The defendant is charged both with the robbery and the killing of his confederate. The jury convicts the defendant only of the robbery and acquits the defendant of murder. That is, the jury necessarily finds that the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant robbed the pharmacy, but the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed murder. The judge sentences the defendant for the robbery, which carries a sentence of five to six years in prison, and also finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant is responsible for the confederate's death, enhancing the defendant's sentence to 19 years in prison. These are the facts ofMcClinton v. UnitedStates. In 2022, the Supreme Court was asked to hear this case and resolve whether enhancing a sentence on the basis of acquitted conduct-generally the conduct underlying an alleged criminal offense that the jury has acquitted the defendant of committing-is consistent with the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the right to a juiy trial under the Sixth Amendment. In 2023, the Supreme Court denied review, however, with several Justices explaining that they were waiting for the U.S. Sentencing Commission to act. The Commission studied the use of acquitted conduct for purposes of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines-the starting point in identifying an appropriate sentence for a federal defendant-and has proposed an amendment to the Guidelines that would limit the consideration of acquitted conduct for purposes of determining the sentencing range under the Guidelines. This Sidebar discusses acquitted conduct in the context of the Guidelines. The Sidebar provides an overview of the Commission's preliminary and current approach to acquitted conduct and identifies some judicial commentary regarding the use of acquitted conduct in sentencing decisions. The Sidebar then turns to the Commission's proposed amendment to the Guidelines on acquitted conduct. The Sidebar concludes with considerations for Congress, including a discussion of the opportunity for Congress to review and respond to the proposed amendment by November 1, 2024. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11037 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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