§ 991. — United States Sentencing Commission; establishment and purposes.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 28USC991]
TITLE 28--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
PART III--COURT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
CHAPTER 58--UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION
Sec. 991. United States Sentencing Commission; establishment and
purposes
(a) There is established as an independent commission in the
judicial branch of the United States a United States Sentencing
Commission which shall consist of seven voting members and one nonvoting
member. The President, after consultation with representatives of
judges, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, law enforcement
officials, senior citizens, victims of crime, and others interested in
the criminal justice process, shall appoint the voting members of the
Commission, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of
whom shall be appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, as the Chair and three of whom shall be designated by the
President as Vice Chairs. At least three of the members shall be Federal
judges selected after considering a list of six judges recommended to
the President by the Judicial Conference of the United States. Not more
than four of the members of the Commission shall be members of the same
political party, and of the three Vice Chairs, no more than two shall be
members of the same political party. The Attorney General, or the
Attorney General's designee, shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member of
the Commission. The Chair, Vice Chairs, and members of the Commission
shall be subject to removal from the Commission by the President only
for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office or for other good cause
shown.
(b) The purposes of the United States Sentencing Commission are to--
(1) establish sentencing policies and practices for the Federal
criminal justice system that--
(A) assure the meeting of the purposes of sentencing as set
forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code;
(B) provide certainty and fairness in meeting the purposes
of sentencing, avoiding unwarranted sentencing disparities among
defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of
similar criminal conduct while maintaining sufficient
flexibility to permit individualized sentences when warranted by
mitigating or aggravating factors not taken into account in the
establishment of general sentencing practices; and
(C) reflect, to the extent practicable, advancement in
knowledge of human behavior as it relates to the criminal
justice process; and
(2) develop means of measuring the degree to which the
sentencing, penal, and correctional practices are effective in
meeting the purposes of sentencing as set forth in section
3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.
(Added Pub. L. 98-473, title II, Sec. 217(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat.
2017; amended Pub. L. 99-22, Sec. 1(1), Apr. 15, 1985, 99 Stat. 46; Pub.
L. 103-322, title XXVIII, Sec. 280005(a), (c)(1), (2), Sept. 13, 1994,
108 Stat. 2096, 2097; Pub. L. 104-294, title VI, Sec. 604(b)(11), Oct.
11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3507.)
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-294 made technical correction to
directory language of Pub. L. 103-322. See 1994 Amendment note below.
1994--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 280005(c)(1), (2), in
second sentence, substituted ``Chair'' for ``Chairman'' and in fifth
sentence, substituted ``the Attorney General's designee'' for ``his
designee''.
Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 280005(a), as amended by Pub. L. 104-294, in
second sentence, substituted ``and three of whom shall be designated by
the President as Vice Chairs.'' for the period at end, in fourth
sentence, substituted ``, and of the three Vice Chairs, no more than two
shall be members of the same political party.'' for the period at end,
and in last sentence, substituted ``Chair, Vice Chairs,'' for
``Chairman''.
1985--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-22 struck out ``in regular active
service'' after ``Federal judges''.
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-294 effective Sept. 13, 1994, see section
604(d) of Pub. L. 104-294, set out as a note under section 13 of Title
18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.
Effective Date
Chapter effective Oct. 12, 1984, see section 235(a)(1)(B)(i) of Pub.
L. 98-473, set out as a note under section 3551 of Title 18, Crimes and
Criminal Procedure.
Composition of Members of Commission During First Five-Year Period
For provisions directing that, notwithstanding the provisions of
this section, during the five-year period following Oct. 12, 1984, the
United States Sentencing Commission shall consist of nine members,
including two ex officio, nonvoting members, see section 235(b)(5) of
Pub. L. 98-473, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3551 of
Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 994 of this title.
