Abstract
In Part II of this Article I will describe the prehistory and creation of the United States Sentencing Commission and Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the roots of the concept of "white collar" crime and its treatment under the Guidelines, and the goals specific to white collar criminal sentencing that motivated Congress, in part, to take these steps to formalize criminal sentencing. I will briefly revisit the Supreme Court's first holdings regarding the limits of the Guidelines and the Sixth Amendment in Koon v. United States, Apprendi v. New Jersey, Blakely v. Washington and United States v. Booker, which made the Guidelines effectively advisory, and the Supreme Court's subsequent rulings in Rita, Gall and Kimbrough, all of which collectively set the stage for the current opportunities for departure in criminal tax sentencing. In Part III of this Article, I will discuss the current state of flexibility and availability of alternative sentences in criminal tax sentencing after Rita, Gall and Kimbrough. Finally, in Part IV, I will present public outrage against high profile criminal tax violators, troubling trends, and a modest proposal for future tax sentencing flexibility that could balance salient legal and public policy concerns. Part V is a brief conclusion.
Recommended Citation
Marla Schwaller Carew,
Discretion and Deterrence in Tax Sentencing After Rita, Gall and Kimbrough—Opportunities for Alternative Sentences and Potential Abuses,
9 Fla. Tax Rev.
(2010).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/ftr/vol9/iss1/14