For each case in its Offender Dataset, the Commission routinely collects case identifiers, sentencing data, demographic variables, statutory information, the complete range of court guideline decisions, and departure and variance information. Throughout 2015, the Commission continued to add data elements to its extensive computerized datafile on defendants sentenced under the guidelines. In addition to its standard data collection, the Commission often codes additional variables to study various distinct issues (e.g., drug offenses, criminal history).
The Commission's 2015 USSC Offender Dataset contains documentation on 71,003 felony and Class A misdemeanor cases in which the offender was sentenced between October 1, 2014, and September 30, 2015. A "case" is defined as one sentencing event for an individual defendant.
The Organizational Dataset contains documentation on organizations sentenced pursuant to Chapter Eight of the Guidelines Manual in 2015. The Commission collects available data on organizational structure, size, and economic viability; offense of conviction; mode of adjudication; sanctions imposed (including probation and court-ordered compliance programs); and application of the sentencing guidelines. The Commission received information on 181 organizations sentenced pursuant to Chapter Eight of the Guidelines Manual.
While the 2015 reporting year includes cases sentenced between October 1, 2014, and September 30, 2015, it is important to note that the individual offender and organizational data collected and analyzed in the 2015 Annual Report and 2015 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics reflect cases for that fiscal year reported to the Commission (i.e., guidelines cases for which the courts forwarded appropriate documentation to the Commission) by February 19, 2016.
The Appeals Dataset tracks appellate review of sentencing decisions. Information captured in this module includes district, circuit, date of opinion, sentencing issues, and the appellate court's disposition. The Commission also tracks final opinions and orders, both published and unpublished, in federal criminal appeals. In 2015, the Commission gathered information on 8,306 cases decided by the courts of appeal. Cases involving co-appellants are treated as separate appeals for statistical purposes.
The Commission implemented a data collection system to track resentencings and other modifications of sentence in 2008. The information collected includes judicial district, reason for resentencing, new sentence, and guideline application information, if available. Information is collected on eight types of resentencings and other modifications of sentence. In 2015, the Commission received documentation on 24,743 resentencings and other modifications of sentence.
The information in this Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics can also be found using an online resource, the "Interactive Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics," available at http://isb.ussc.gov/Login. All of the tables and figures in this Sourcebook are available in the online version. Additionally, many other tables and figures providing further analysis of federal sentencing statistics can be found there. These additional tables and figures are not included in the printed Sourcebook. The data in the Interactive Sourcebook can be tailored to any district or group of districts, or to a circuit or group of circuits. Users can also change the fiscal year of the data presented, or group multiple years of data into one analysis. All analyses using the online tool can be saved into a .pdf format for later use or printing.
1 28 U.S.C. § 994(w); USSG §1B1.9.
2 28 U.S.C. §§ 995(a)(12) and (14) – (16).
3 The Commission's datasets can be found at http://www.ussc.gov/research-and-publications/commission-datafiles.
4 The Consortium's website address is http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/landing.jsp.