101 Iowa L. Rev. 435 (2015)

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Abstract

The United States Sentencing Commission (“Commission”) created the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”) to bring uniformity and fairness to criminal sentencing in the United States. Since their inception and application by judges in 1987, the Guidelines have lacked a definition for “arrest” in section 4A1.2(a)(2). This absence of a definition developed a circuit split over whether traffic citations fall within the meaning of “arrest” for purposes of determining a defendant’s criminal history, and thus, his criminal sentence. This Note argues that the United States Supreme Court should adopt the Ninth Circuit’s approach to defining “arrest” in the context of section 4A1.2(a)(2), because this approach aligns with current Supreme Court precedent (particularly with relevant Fourth Amendment case law); reflects the goals and purposes of the Guidelines; and matches a defendant’s culpability, likelihood of recidivating, and sentence while decreasing sentencing disparity among similarly situated defendants.