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S. 1086 · 108th Congress

Judicial Use of Discretion to Guarantee Equity in Sentencing Act of 2003

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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 108th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

TKD KennedySponsor
7 cosponsors · 7 D
RFD Feingold FLD Lautenberg PLD Leahy RDD Durbin CLD Levin JCD Corzine DFD Feinstein

3 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.

Judicial Use of Discretion to Guarantee Equity in Sentencing Act of 2003 (JUDGES Act) - Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to report to Congress on the incidence of downward departures from the U.S. sentencing guidelines (i.e., imposition of a sentence below the range established by such guidelines).

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · May 20, 2003
Judicial Use of Discretion to Guarantee Equity in Sentencing Act of 2003 (JUDGES Act) - Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to report to Congress on the incidence of downward departures from the U.S. sentencing guidelines (i.e., imposition of a sentence below the range established by such guidelines). Includes among required report contents: (1) a discussion of the history and purpose of departures in the Federal system; (2) information on rates of departures from the guidelines among different districts and judicial circuits and among different offense and departure types; (3) an analysis of the grounds provided by district court judges when they depart from the guidelines; (4) a comparison of the departure authority in Federal law with that of mandatory State systems; and (5) an assessment of the extent to which departures undermine or promote the purposes of sentencing.

Repeals specified nonconforming (sentencing reform) provisions of the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (PROTECT Act), including provisions that limit judges' discretion in sentencing, require the Chief Judge of each district court to submit written reports to the Commission within 30 days of entry of judgment in every criminal case, and make changes to the composition of the Commission.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: Judicial Use of Discretion to Guarantee Equity in Sentencing Act of 2003

Also known as: JUDGES Act

Latest action (May 20, 2003): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement · Origin: Senate · Introduced: May 20, 2003

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.