Both state and federal courts sentence for felonies based upon what are called "Sentencing Guidelines".
The state guidelines are 'charge-based,' that is each felony offense falls within one of 10 categories, and each category has a certain point value from least to most serious. To calculate a possible sentence, the court adds the assigned points for the crime or crimes of conviction, plus points for victim injury, plus points for prior criminal convictions. The total points are converted to possible state prison months, but this still leaves open the possibility of probation, or community control.
The federal sentencing guidelines are vastly more complex. These guidelines are 'conduct-based,' so that even if charges are dropped as part of a plea negotiation, the criminal conduct is still considered by the guidelines for purposes of increasing a possible sentence. Other factors such as a person?s actual role in the offense as opposed to what co-defendants did, whether firearms were involved, prior criminal history, and numerous other factors are considered in arriving at a guidelines range within which the judge can sentence.
For the past 20 years, these guidelines were considered as mandatory upon federal judges. In January of 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the guidelines were advisory, not mandatory. Under the new ruling, many factors that were not allowed to be considered under the mandatory guidelines, such as family history, age, health, cultural background, etc., may now be presented to the court in its determination of an appropriate sentence.
All of the above show why you need attorneys who are familiar with the latest sentencing laws and court decisions, in order to try to receive the best possible sentence.