The Federal Sentencing Guidelines’ Abuse of Trust Enhancement: An Argument for the Professional Discretion Approach

Authors

Adam Denver Griffin

Abstract

This Note analyzes the prevalent judicial approaches to § 3B1.3 and explains how some courts erred by advancing the hybrid approach after the 1993 Amendment to § 3B1.3. Part II examines the role of trust in guideline sentencing. Part III discusses the policy behind the Guidelines, including the continuing application of the Guidelines despite the Supreme Court’s 2005 United States v. Booker decision. Part IV explains different approaches employed by the circuit courts to define a position of trust. Part V highlights the effect of the approach by contrasting the Third Circuit’s hybrid with the Eleventh Circuit’s professional discretion approach. Finally, Part VI analyses the history of the enhancement and endorses the recent trend towards the application of the professional discretion approach.

Recommended Citation

Adam Denver Griffin, The Federal Sentencing Guidelines’ Abuse of Trust Enhancement: An Argument for the Professional Discretion Approach, 63 Fla. L. Rev. 457 (2011).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol63/iss2/5