The Plea Agreement and Allocution
If an individual pleads guilty it is almost always subject to a plea agreement. The plea agreement is an agreement reached by the prosecutors and the defendant as to exactly what the defendant will plead guilty to, and what the sentencing range will be. A defendant then tells the judge in court what he did in what is called the allocution.
The Pre Sentence Report by Probation
After the allocution or if you have been convicted after a trial, your case will also move towards sentencing. The United States Department of Probation will set up a pre-sentence interview. At that interview, the probation department will get information to write their pre-sentence report or PSR. The defendant will have an opportunity to view and correct the report. Once the defendant has submitted his corrections, the report will go to the judge, and will contain a recommendation on what the sentence should be.
The Sentencing Memorandum by the Defense
The defendant has a chance to submit his own memorandum. This is a chance for the defendant, through his attorney, to show the court who he is as an individual and what led him to commit the crime. A skilled attorney can use this memo to persuade a judge that a defendant deserves a lesser sentence because of who he is and what the circumstances surrounding the crime were.
The attorneys at the Law Offices of Adam Perlmutter have a demonstrated record of success in getting reduced sentences due to our intensive approach to sentencing.
The Sentencing
Once the judge has received the pre-sentence report from probation, the prosecutors recommendation, and the sentencing memo from the defendant, the defendant will appear before the judge, and the judge will issue a sentence. Although the judge must consult the guidelines, ever since the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Booker, a judge is not bound by the guidelines, and may give a higher or lower sentence based upon the factors put before him.
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