Business as usual at the USSC?

Today I received an e-mail notice that the October 2004 edition of the “GuideLines newsletter” is now available for viewing on the US Sentencing Commission’s website. Here is the link to all of the USSC’s newsletters, and here is the link to the October 2004 pdf edition.

Consistent with its apparent “less is more” philosophy post-Blakely, this newsletter says amazingly little about the real post-Blakely world of federal sentencing, while continuing to discuss pre-Blakely work and plans. The document does include this recognition of reality:

With regards to the pending Supreme Court cases of United States v. Booker and United States v. Fanfan, the Commission’s belief continues to be that the federal sentencing guidelines are constitutional. We have expressed that belief in our recent testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and we have reasserted that viewpoint in an amicus brief that we filed with the Supreme Court of the United States on September 1. However, the Commission continues to monitor viewpoints of individuals and organizations from across the country for study, consideration, and implementation if it should ever become necessary.