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Once again, a November starts, the new Guidelines are here, the new Guidelines are here!!

By Douglas Berman

Though I have made this old reference many times before, November 1 still gets me thinking of this silly scene from “The Jerk” in which which Steve Martin’s character is so excited about the new phonebook, which he says means “things are going to start happening” now.  I am not sure if anyone even prints phonebooks anymore; I am sure, in the federal sentencing world, it is still exciting when the “new book,” the latest official revised version of the US Sentencing Guidelines, becomes official and effective on November 1. 

Excitingly, the US Sentencing Commission sent out an email yesterday highlighting some notable new resources related to the new guidelines. Here is part of the text and links from this email: 

What’s New In The 2024 Manual?

Amendment 826 (Acquitted Conduct)

Amendment 827 (Loss Calculation)

Amendment 829 (Youthful Individuals)

… and more!

Learn about all of this year’s amendments in the Reader-Friendly or review the quick summary of changes inside the front cover of the printed manual. 

The Commission has parked all six segments of the USSC podcast described as a “Guideline Amendments Miniseries” are available at this link.  Though there are a number of interesting elements to these amendments, they are all relatively modest in their particulars, especially as compared to the many more consequential changes in the 2023 Guideline amendment cycle. 

Interestingly, these may be the first set of amendments in which we do not know, at the time of implementation, if any could end up retroactive.  After gathering comment and conducting a public hearing in July on this topic, the Commission in August announced at a public meeting that it would “not be voting on retroactivity” while it worked on “clear principles that will guide its approach to retroactivity.”  I do not know if the Commission is making progress on this front, but I do not know that amendments are not retroactive unless and until the Commission votes to formally make them retroactive.