Chained Women III, Starring Martha Stewart

[Urban Ranger]

Could you translate that, MtG?

[MichaeltheGreat]

FSG = Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
MDD = Motion for Downward Departure.
CHC = Criminal History Component.

Federal judges don't have much sentencing discretion, since Congress set up the United States Sentencing Commission to create a set of mandatory guidelines for sentencing Federal crimes.

The way it works is that different crimes have a different base levels. Then you add or subtract to that for different criteria. If it was a crime involving multiple parties, what was your role? Leader, normal working crook, or accessory? What aggravating factors apply? (i.e. if it was a crime with economic impact, how much was lost. Other aggravating factors that adjust the offense level include use of minors in the criminal act, violence beyond the inherent violence in the crime, being a career criminal, or a repeat offender, etc. After you apply all the factors that relate to the crime, if you do the puppy dog act and whimper to the judge how sorry you are and all that crap, then you get to knock off a couple of points from the offense level. There's a few mitigating factors, like rolling over and helping the Feds.

After you resolve the offense level, you do a CHC on the defendant, and here's where you get to take into consideration past record, based on convictions and time of incarceration. There are six CHC levels from I to VI, with I being squeeky clean, and VI being the head of your own mafia family.

To get the base sentence, you then look up on a table the modified offense level, and the CHC level. That gives you a range, generally with a small spread, say 6-12 months, or 12-15 years, that is the normal guideline sentence.

If the US Attorney consents to it, or if you can convince the court (hard if you don't get the US Attorney's go ahead), you can file a Motion for Downward Departure, which generally only applies if you're a CHC I or CHC II defendant. The MDD allows the judge to impose a lesser sentence by reducing the offense level, but in general, you can't reduce the sentence below half and change from the minimum sentence for the offense level before the MDD.

In Martha's case, insider trading carries only a base of 8, but that's because all insider trading charges require modification for the economic value.

Plain obstruction of justice, (OJ), has a base level of 12.

So depending on how you'd charge her, Martha would get nailed for a level 16 offense for insider trading, or a level 12 for OJ. Then if she rolls her eyes, paws the ground and does a boo hoo hoo I'm sorry scene in court, they knock off two points for that, so she goes into the CHC part with either a level 14 or a level 10 after the drama queen bit. She has no prior record, and there's no negative addons to her first charge, so she's a CHC I automatically.

From that, you can look up her sentence range.

The shorthand version is a lot easier to type.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Dissident
I kind of have this fantasy of her being ****ed in prison by a woman with a large strap-on

but seriously, I didn't realize she was about to be arrested. Unbelievable. She just may see some prison time, but she may get off with a large fine.

Or she may get off with a large strap-on.