Federal Sentencing Policy: Role of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

While the Sentencing Commission has been the primary agency charged with establishing sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts over the past 30 years, the Judicial Conference of the United States (the national policy-making body for the federal courts) and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) have also played important roles in developing and implementing sentencing policy. The author, the current chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Criminal Law, describes the role of both these entities during this era of sentencing guidelines.