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41 S. C. L. Rev. 495 (1989-1990)
Relevant Conduct: The Cornerstone of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines

handle is hein.journals/sclr41 and id is 509 raw text is: SOUTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW VOLUME 41 SPRING 1990 NUMBER 3 RELEVANT CONDUCT: THE CORNERSTONE OF THE FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES WILLIAM W. WILKINS, JR.* JOHN R. STEER** I. INTRODUCTION*** After more than a decade of deliberation, an overwhelming, bipar- tisan majority of Congress enacted landmark legislation in 1984 that has revolutionized sentencing in the federal criminal justice system. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984' (Act) created the United States Sentencing Commission to promulgate binding sentencing guidelines for the federal courts.2 A major goal of the Act was to reduce disparity in sentencing through a new system in which defendants with similar characteristics who committed similar crimes received similar sentences.3 To accomplish this goal, Congress instructed the Commis- sion to develop a series of sentencing ranges in which the high point of each range did not exceed the low point by more than twenty-five per- * Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and Chairman, United States Sentencing Commission. ** General Counsel, United States Sentencing Commission. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily re- present the official position of the United States Sentencing Commission. 1. Pub. L. No. 98-473, Title II, 98 Stat. 1987 (1984) (codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 3551- 3559 (1988); 28 U.S.C. §§ 991-998 (Supp. V 1987)). 2. 28 U.S.C. § 994(a) (Supp. V 1987). 3. Id. § 991(b)(1)(B).

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