Time To Reform The Antitrust Sentencing Guidelines

Law360, New York (August 9, 2016, 11:21 AM EDT) -- Both as a prosecutor with the Antitrust Division, and now as a defense attorney, I dislike the United States sentencing guidelines, more specifically, U.S.S.G. §2R1.1 (Bid-Rigging, Price-Fixing or Market-Allocation Agreements Among Competitors). As a prosecutor, I disliked that the guidelines were mandatory when first promulgated in 1984. That made the Antitrust Division both prosecutor and judge since virtually every case was resolved by plea agreement. I was happy to leave the tough job of imposing a sentence to a judge. That concern was alleviated by the U.S. Supreme Court decision of United States v. Booker, 543 US. 220 (2005), where the court ruled that guidelines sentencing ranges were advisory; federal judges were not required to impose sentences within the range. Even as recommended guidelines, however, I dislike the antitrust guidelines because they do a lousy job of formulating a recommendation based on the actual culpability of an individual defendant.[1] My hope and recommendation is that the American Bar Association Antitrust Section forms a task force to review the guidelines and recommend changes....

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