Unfair Sentencing Guidelines

Judges in Iowa have discretion for sentencing within the guidelines of the Iowa Code. Iowa also has habitual offender statutes. Iowa Code section 902. states "An habitual offender is any person convicted of a class "C" or a class "D" felony, who has twice before been convicted of any felony in a court of this or any other state, or of the United States. An offense is a felony if, by the law under which the person is convicted, it is so classified at the time of the person's conviction. A person sentenced as an habitual offender shall not be eligible for parole until the person has served the minimum sentence of confinement of three years." (Herbermann 12-20)

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that the habitual offender statutes do not charge a separate offense, but simply are a sentencing enhancement. State v. Woody, 613 N.W.2d 215, 217; accord State v. Brady, 442 N.W.2d. 57, 58 (Iowa 1989). While the Iowa statute applies to prior convictions, other jurisdictions have ruled that this issue must still go to a jury. At this time, Iowa's habitual offender statute has been upheld, but may be subject to a future challenge which could be successful. (Jackson 74-85)

The Uniform Sentencing Guidelines are rules that set out a uniform sentencing policy for convicted defendants in the United States federal court system. The Guidelines are the product of the United States Sentencing Commission and are part of an overall federal sentencing reform package that took effect in the mid-1980s. The package was intended to provide determinate sentencing. This refers to sentencing whose actual limits are determined at the time the sentence is imposed, as opposed to indeterminate sentencing, in which a sentence with a maximum (and, perhaps, a minimum) is pronounced but the actual sentence is determined by a parole commission or similar administrative body after the person has started serving their sentence. In general, indeterminate sentences are believed to support the rehabilitation and specific deterrence models of sentencing while determinate sentences are believed to support the general deterrence and just deserts models of sentencing. (Black 36-59)

Guidelines provides extensive discussion and current citations of the hundreds of important cases interpreting the provisions. The first six chapters follow the sequence of the sentencing guidelines, progressing from the setting of the offense level adjustment and departures to the determination of the sentence. The remaining seven chapters address the constitutionality ...