Former Commissioner Information

The following is a chronological listing of the voting members who have served on the United States Sentencing Commission from its inception. Following each commissioner's name is the time period for which the commissioner served and, in parentheses, the position held immediately prior to appointment with the Commission.

  • Judge William W. Wilkins, Jr., Chairman, 1985-1994
    (Judge, U.S. District Circuit, South Carolina; subsequently elevated to U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit)
  • Justice Stephen G. Breyer, 1985-1989
    (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit; subsequently elevated to the U.S. Supreme Court)
  • Judge George E. MacKinnon, 1985-1991
    (Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit)
  • Ilene H. Nagel, 1985-1994
    (Professor of Law and Sociology, Indiana University School of Law)
  • Helen G. Corrothers, 1985-1991
    (Member, U.S. Parole Commission)
  • Michael K. Block, 1985-1989 (resigned 9/1/89 before 10/31/89 end of term)
    (Professor of Law and Economics, University of Arizona)
  • Paul H. Robinson, 1985-1988 (resigned 2/1/88 before 10/31/89 end of term)
    (Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School)
  • Judge A. David Mazzone, 1990-1996; Vice Chair 1994-1996
    (Judge, U.S. District Court, D. Massachusetts)
  • Judge Julie E. Carnes, 1990-1996
    (Assistant U.S. Attorney, N.D. Georgia. Subsequently was appointed as a federal district court judge for the Northern District of Georgia and continued to serve on the Commission.)
  • Michael S. Gelacak, 1990-1998; Vice Chair 1994-98 (holdover status ended 10/21/98)
    (Attorney, McNair Firm, Washington, D.C.)
  • Judge Richard P. Conaboy, Chairman, 1994-1998 (resigned 10/31/98 before 10/31/99 end of term)
    (Senior Judge, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania)
  • Judge Deanell R. Tacha, 1994-1998 (holdover status ended 10/21/98)
    (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit)
  • Michael Goldsmith, 1994-1998; Vice Chair, 1995-97 (holdover status ended 10/21/98)
    (Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School)
  • Wayne A. Budd, 1994-1997 (resigned 5/1/97 before 10/31/99 end of term)
    (Attorney, Goodwin, Procter & Hoar, Boston, MA)
  • Judge Joe Kendall, 1999-2001 (holdover status ended 11/22/02)
    (Judge, U.S. District Court, N.D. Texas)
  • Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr., 1999-2001 (holdover status ended 11/22/02)
    (Judge, U.S. District Court, E.D. New York)
  • Judge Diana E. Murphy, Chair, 1999-2004 (resigned 1/31/04)
    (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit)
  • Professor Michael E. O’Neill, (1999 - 2005) (resigned 1/14/05)
    (Assistant Professor, George Mason University School of Law)
  • John R. Steer, Vice Chair (1999 - 2005) (holdover status ended 12/31/07)
    (General Counsel, U.S. Sentencing Commission)
  • Michael E. Horowitz (2003 - 2008) (holdover status ended 12/31/08)
    (Attorney, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Washington, DC)
  • Judge William K. Sessions III, Chair, 2009-2010
    Vice Chair, 1999-2009
    (Judge and later elevated to Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Vermont)
  • Judge Ruben Castillo, Vice Chair, 1999-2010
    (Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois)
  • Judge Beryl A. Howell, 2004-2012
    (Executive Managing Director and General Counsel, Stroz Friedberg, Washington, DC; subsequently appointed to the U.S. District Court, District of Columbia and later elevated to Chief Judge.)
  • William B. Carr, Jr., Vice Chair, 2008-2012
    (Adjunct Professor of Law, Widener Law School)
  • Chief Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa, Chair, 2003-2010
    Vice Chair, 2011-2014
    (Judge and later Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas)
  • Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Vice Chair, 2010-2014
    (Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia)
  • Dabney L. Friedrich, 2006-2016
    (Associate Counsel to the President)
  • Chief Judge Patti B. Saris, Chair, 2010-2016
    (Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts)
  • Judge Charles R. Breyer, Vice Chair, 2013-2016
    (Senior Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California)