The courts
sentencing guidelines
A grid of recommended federal sentence ranges based on the offense and the defendant's history. Advisory since 2005, but still the starting point.
In full
The U.S. Sentencing Commission publishes the guidelines to reduce unwarranted disparity. United States v. Booker (2005) made them advisory rather than mandatory, but judges must still calculate the range and explain any departure, and appellate review checks that reasoning. Statutory mandatory minimums operate separately and override the guidelines.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.