Date of Project

4-7-2025

Document Type

Honors Thesis

School Name

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Major Advisor

Dr. David Scott

Second Advisor

Dr. Heather Pruss

Abstract

This paper analyzes the Career Offender Enhancement within the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. This enhancement can provide unequal sentences for similarly situated defendants in different federal circuits. This paper seeks to investigate the current circuit split and utilize the canons of construction to provide a better understanding of how this split could be resolved and the philosophical reasoning. To answer this question, I conducted a case study on four different cases within four different circuits to understand the courts' reasoning behind their application or lack of application of the Career Offender Enhancement. The results show two main issues surrounding the enhancement: Inchoate offenses and the definition of controlled substances. I believe that the Rule of Lenity, along with other canons, provides a framework for judges to interpret this unclear statute to best benefit the defendant and protect them from judicial overreach and extensive sentences. Further, this study emphasizes the importance of this issue being brought to the Supreme Court for the statute to be clearly interpreted and defined.

Included in

Criminal Law Commons

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