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.
Recommended Citation
Goff, Riley M., "Navigating Circuit Splits: Analyzing Career Offender Enhancements in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines through Canons of Construction" (2025). Undergraduate Theses. 177.
https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/ugrad_theses/177