Specific Offender Characteristics - Determining the Sentence
§5J1.1 | GUIDELINES MANUAL | November 1, 2005 |
(iii) The danger, if any, to members of the defendant’s family as a result of the offense.
(B) Departures Based on Loss of Caretaking or Financial Support.—A departure under this policy statement based on the loss of caretaking or financial support of the defendant’s family requires, in addition to the court’s consideration of the non-exhaustive list of circumstances in subdivision (A), the presence of the following circumstances:
(i) The defendant’s service of a sentence within the applicable guideline range will cause a substantial, direct, and specific loss of essential caretaking, or essential financial support, to the defendant’s family.
(ii) The loss of caretaking or financial support substantially exceeds the harm ordinarily incident to incarceration for a similarly situated defendant. For example, the fact that the defendant’s family might incur some degree of financial hardship or suffer to some extent from the absence of a parent through incarceration is not in itself sufficient as a basis for departure because such hardship or suffering is of a sort ordinarily incident to incarceration.
(iii) The loss of caretaking or financial support is one for which no effective remedial or ameliorative programs reasonably are available, making the defendant’s caretaking or financial support irreplaceable to the defendant’s family.
(iv) The departure effectively will address the loss of caretaking or financial support.
Background: Section 401(b)(4) of Public Law 108–21 directly amended this policy statement to add the second paragraph, effective April 30, 2003.
Historical Note:: Effective November 1, 1987. Amended effective November 1, 1991 (see Appendix C, amendment 386); April 30, 2003 (see Appendix C, amendment 649); October 27, 2003 (see Appendix C, amendment 651); November 1, 2004 (see Appendix C, amendment 674).
§5H1.7. Role in the Offense (Policy Statement)
A defendant’s role in the offense is relevant in determining the applicable guideline range (see Chapter Three, Part B (Role in the Offense)) but is not a basis for departing from that range (see subsection (d) of §5K2.0 (Grounds for Departures)).
Historical Note:: Effective November 1, 1987. Amended effective October 27, 2003 (see Appendix C, amendment 651).
§5H1.8. Criminal History (Policy Statement)
A defendant’s criminal history is relevant in determining the applicable criminal history category. See Chapter Four (Criminal History and Criminal Livelihood). For grounds of departure based on the defendant’s criminal history, see §4A1.3 (Departures Based on Inadequacy of Criminal History Category).
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