Chapter 1. Advisory Commission on Sentencing.

§ 3–101. District of Columbia Sentencing Commission.

(a) The District of Columbia Sentencing Commission (“Commission”) is established as an independent agency within the District of Columbia government, consistent with the meaning of the term “independent agency” as provided in § 1-603.01(13).

(b) The Commission shall perform the following duties:

(1) Promulgate, implement, and revise a system of voluntary sentencing guidelines for use in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia designed to achieve the goals of certainty, consistency, and adequacy of punishment, with due regard for the:

(A) Seriousness of the offense;

(B) Dangerousness of the offender;

(D) Offender’s potential for rehabilitation; and

(E) Use of alternatives to prison, where appropriate;

(2) Publish a manual containing the instructions for applying the voluntary guidelines, update the manual periodically, and provide ongoing technical assistance to the court and practitioners on sentencing and sentencing guideline issues;

(3) Review and analyze pertinent sentencing data and, where the information has not been provided in a particular case, ask the judge to specify the factors upon which he or she relied in departing from the guideline recommendations or for imposing what appears to be a noncompliant sentence;

(4) Conduct focus groups, community outreach, training, and other activities designed to collect and disseminate information about the guidelines;

(5) Review and research sentencing policies and practices locally and nationally, and make recommendations to increase the fairness and effectiveness of sentences in the District of Columbia; and

(6) Consult with other District of Columbia, federal, and state agencies that are affected by or address sentencing issues.

(c) The Commission is designated as a criminal justice agency for purposes of accessing offender and sentencing related data required to perform the duties specified under this chapter.

(Oct. 16, 1998, D.C. Law 12-167, § 2, 45 DCR 5180; Oct. 3, 2001, D.C. Law 14-28, § 3802(a), 48 DCR 6981; Sept. 30, 2004, D.C. Law 15-190, § 2(a), 51 DCR 6737; June 16, 2006, D.C. Law 16-126, § 2(a), 53 DRC 4709; Oct. 18, 2007, D.C. Law 17-25, § 2(a), 54 DCR 8014; Sept. 20, 2012, D.C. Law 19-168, § 3032(a), 59 DCR 8025; Oct. 8, 2016, D.C. Law 21-160, § 3128(a), 63 DCR 10775.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 2-4201.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 14-28 rewrote subsec. (a) which had read as follows: “(a) There is established the Advisory Commission on Sentencing (’Commission’).”

D.C. Law 15-190, in the section heading and in subsec. (a), substituted “District of Columbia Sentencing Commission” for “Advisory Commission on Sentencing”.

D.C. Law 16-126, in section heading, substituted “Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission” for “Sentencing Commission”; in subsec. (a), substituted “Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission” for “Sentencing Commission”; and, in subsec. (b), substituted “In addition to the duties required under § 3-101.01, the Commission” for “The Commission”.

D.C. Law 17-25 rewrote subsec. (b).

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-168 added (c).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3402(a) of Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2001 (D.C. Act 14-124, August 3, 2001, 48 DCR 7861).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Advisory Commission on Sentencing Structured Sentencing System Pilot Program Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-437, May 21, 2004, 51 DCR 5957).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Advisory Commission on Sentencing Structured Sentencing System Pilot Program Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-510, August 2, 2004, 51 DCR 8967).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-72, July 20, 2007, 54 DCR 7401).

Temporary Legislation

For temporary (225 days) creation of § 3-001, see § 813 of Coronavirus Support Temporary Amendment Act of 2020 (D.C. Law 23-130, Oct. 9, 2020, 67 DCR 8622).

Editor's Notes

Applicability: Section 4 of D.C. Law 16-126 provided: ’This act shall apply as of January 1, 2007.”

§ 3–101.01. Criminal Code reform. [Repealed]

Repealed.

(Oct. 16, 1998, D.C. Law 12-167, § 2a; as added June 16, 2006, D.C. Law 16-126, § 2(b), 53 DCR 4709; Oct. 18, 2007, D.C. Law 17-25, § 2(b), 54 DCR 8014; Dec. 10, 2009, D.C. Law 18-88, § 202, 56 DCR 7413; Sept. 14, 2011, D.C. Law 19-21, § 3032, 58 DCR 6226; Sept. 20, 2012, D.C. Law 19-168, § 3032(b), 59 DCR 8025; Oct. 8, 2016, D.C. Law 21-160, § 3128(b), 63 DCR 10775.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 3-101.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 17-25, in subsec. (c), substituted “recommendations for criminal code revisions” for “recommendations”.

D.C. Law 18-88, in subsec. (b), substituted “2012” for “2010”.

D.C. Law 19-21, in subsec. (b), substituted “2014” for “2012”.

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-168 substituted “September 30, 2016” for “September 30, 2014” in the second sentence of (b).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-72, July 20, 2007, 54 DCR 7401).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 202 of Omnibus Public Safety and Justice Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-181, August 6, 2009, 56 DCR 6903).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 202 of Omnibus Public Safety and Justice Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-227, October 21, 2009, 56 DCR 8668).

Short Title

Short title: Section 3031 of D.C. Law 19-21 provided that subtitle D of title III of the act may be cited as “Criminal Code Reform Extension Amendment Act of 2011”.

Editor's Notes

Applicability: Section 4 of D.C. Law 16-126 provided: ’This act shall apply as of January 1, 2007.”

§ 3–102. Membership of the Commission.

*NOTE: This section includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on June 9, 2024. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation, click this link: Permanent Version.*

(a) The Commission shall consist of 15 voting members and 5 nonvoting members as follows:

(1) The voting members of the Commission shall consist of the following:

(A) Three judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court;

(B) Repealed;

(D) The Director of the D.C. Public Defender Service or his or her designee;

(E) The Attorney General for the District of Columbia or his or her designee;

(F) The Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia or his or her designee;

(G) Two members of the District of Columbia Bar, one who has experience with criminal defense in the District of Columbia, and one who has experience with criminal prosecution in the District of Columbia, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court in consultation with the President of the District of Columbia Bar;

(H) A professional from an established organization devoted to research and analysis of sentencing issues and policies, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia;

(I) Two residents of the District of Columbia, nominated by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by the Council;

(I-i) Two residents of the District of Columbia, appointed by the Council, one of whom is a returning citizen, and one of whom has been a victim of a crime of violence and who has a background in victim's rights or services; and

(I-ii) The Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department or the Chief's designee.

(J) Repealed.

(2) The non-voting members of the Commission shall consist of the following:

(A) The Director of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections or his or her designee;

(B) Repealed.

(D) The Chairperson of the United States Parole Commission or his or her designee;

(E) The chairperson of the Council committee that has oversight of the Commission within its purview; and

(F) The Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice or the Deputy Mayor's designee.

(b) The appointment of members designated by subsection (a)(1)(G), (H), (I), and (J) of this section shall be made in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) Each member shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, and shall continue to serve during that time as long as the member remains eligible for the appointment.

(2) A member may be reappointed.

(3) A person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of a term shall serve for the remainder of the term or until a successor has been appointed.

(4) A member may be removed only for incompetence, neglect of duty, or misconduct.

(b-1) The Mayor shall submit a nomination for membership pursuant to § 1-523.01(e).

(d) Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation, except that the citizen members of the Commission may be compensated at an amount not to exceed $15.00 each day or part thereof for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.

(Oct. 16, 1998, D.C. Law 12-167, § 3, 45 DCR 5180; June 16, 2006, D.C. Law 16-126, § 2(c), 53 DCR 4709; Oct. 18, 2007, D.C. Law 17-25, § 2(c), 54 DCR 8014; Mar. 19, 2013, D.C. Law 19-225, § 3, 59 DCR 13551; Oct. 8, 2016, D.C. Law 21-160, § 3128(c), 63 DCR 10775; May 10, 2019, D.C. Law 22-313, § 5, 66 DCR 1627; Mar. 11, 2024, D.C. Act 25-410, § 4(a), 71 DCR 2693.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 2-4202.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 16-126, in the lead-in language of subsec. (a), substituted “15” for “13”, and substituted “5” for “4”; repealed subsec. (a)(1)(B); in subsec. (a)(1)(H), deleted “; and” at the end; in subsec. (a)(1)(I), substituted “; and” for a period; added subsec. (a)(1)(J); in subsec. (a)(2)(C), deleted “; and” at the end; in subsec. (a)(2)(D), substituted “; and” for a period; and added subsec. (a)(2)(E). Prior to repeal, subsec. (a)(1)(B) read as follows: “(B) One member of the Council, appointed by the Chairman of the Council;”.

D.C. Law 17-25, in subsec. (a)(1)(E), substituted “Attorney General” for “Corporation Counsel”; and rewrote subsecs. (a)(1)(F), (a)(2)(E), and (b).

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-225 deleted “who are not attorneys” following “Columbia” in (a)(1)(I).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4(a) of Secure DC Omnibus Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 (D.C. Act 25-410, Mar. 11, 2024, 71 DCR 2693).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(c) of District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-72, July 20, 2007, 54 DCR 7401).

Editor's Notes

Applicability: Section 4 of D.C. Law 16-126 provided: ’This act shall apply as of January 1, 2007.”

§ 3–103. Meetings and hearings.

(a) The Commission shall meet as necessary to conduct its official business.

(b) A majority of the voting members appointed to the Commission shall constitute a quorum.

(c) The Commission may act by an affirmative vote of a majority of voting members present and voting after a quorum has been established.

(d) The Commission may conduct public hearings, receive testimony, and call witnesses to assist the Commission in the exercise of its powers.

(e) The Chairperson is authorized to administer an oath or affirmation to each witness.

§ 3–104. Comprehensive study and reports.

(a) No later than September 30, 1999, the Commission shall submit to the Council a comprehensive study of criminal sentencing practices in the District of Columbia, including, but not limited to, a report on the length of sentences imposed, the length of sentences served, the proportion of offenders released upon their first parole eligibility date, and an assessment of the impact on sentence length and sentencing disparities likely to result from implementation of the Truth in Sentencing Amendment Act of 1998, effective October 10, 1998 (D.C. Law 12-165; 45 DCR 2980).

(b) No later than April 5, 2000, the Commission shall submit to the Council its report containing its recommendations consistent with its purposes. The Commission’s report shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) A report on sentencing and release practices in the District of Columbia;

(2) A recommendation as to whether determinate sentencing should be extended to all felonies, or to additional criminal offenses under District of Columbia law beyond those specified in § 24-112(h);

(3) A recommendation as to appropriate limits and conditions on terms of supervised release, including whether there should be a mechanism for changing the length of a term of supervised release after its imposition, and any considerations that should apply with respect to the ratio between a prison term of sentence and a supervised release term;

(4) A projection of the impact, if any, on the size of the District’s correctional and supervised offender populations of the implementation of each measure proposed by the Commission;

(5) A recommendation regarding the appropriate length of life sentences for offenses under the determinate sentencing system;

(6) An assessment of the intermediate sanctions currently available in the District’s criminal justice system;

(7) A recommendation for intermediate sanctions that should be made available in the District of Columbia’s criminal justice system, including proposals for alternatives to incarceration for suitable offenders, the estimated cost of such programs, and recommendations for rules or principles to guide a judge’s imposition of intermediate sanctions as part of a criminal sentence; and

(8) A recommendation as to whether multiple sentences should run concurrently or consecutively, and what guidance, if any, should be provided regarding the imposition of consecutive sentences.

(d) Starting in 2008, the Commission shall file a report with the Council on or before April 30 of each calendar year that:

(1) Contains an analysis of the sentences imposed in the preceding calendar year, including:

(A) The rate of compliance with the guidelines;

(B) The number and extent of any departures from the guidelines; and

(2) Describes any substantive changes made to the guidelines during the preceding year, including changes in the:

(A) Recommended sentencing options or prison ranges;

(B) Ranking of particular offenses; or

(3) Informs the Council how it has ranked any new felony offense or reranked any existing felony offense because of a statutory change or for another reason, and the resulting guideline sentencing options and prison range for each such an offense.

(Oct. 16, 1998, D.C. Law 12-167, § 5, 45 DCR 5180; Oct. 18, 2007, D.C. Law 17-25, § 2(e), 54 DCR 8014.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 2-4204.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 17-25 repealed subsec. (c); and added subsec. (d). Prior to repeal, subsec. (c) read as follows: “(c) The Commission shall submit an annual report to the Council within 60 days of the end of each fiscal year summarizing the activities of the Commission and including such further recommendations to the Council as may be appropriate.”

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(e) of District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-72, July 20, 2007, 54 DCR 7401).

§ 3–105. Voluntary sentencing guidelines.

(a) The voluntary sentencing guidelines promulgated by the Commission shall not be binding on judges.

(b) Notwithstanding the guidelines, the judge in an individual case may impose any sentence that does not exceed the maximum term prescribed by law and is not otherwise prohibited by the Constitution or laws of the United States or the District of Columbia.

(c) The sentencing guidelines shall not create any legally enforceable rights in any party nor shall they diminish any rights that currently exist.

(d) The Commission shall not implement any changes in the basic structure of the voluntary sentencing guidelines without first informing the Council.

(Oct. 16, 1998, D.C. Law 12-167, § 6, 45 DCR 5180; June 8, 2001, D.C. Law 13-302, § 2, 47 DCR 7249; Sept. 30, 2004, D.C. Law 15-190, § 2(b), 51 DCR 6737; Oct. 18, 2007, D.C. Law 17-25, § 2(f), 54 DCR 8014.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 2-4205.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 13-302 rewrote the section which had read:

“If the Commission recommends a system of sentencing guidelines as part of its report, any such recommendation shall:

“(1) Specify whether and under what circumstances to impose a sentence of probation, a term of imprisonment, and a fine, and the amount or length of each;

“(2) Provide for the application of intermediate sanctions in appropriate cases;

“(3) Include provisions for such appeal rights from sentencing determinations as may be appropriate or constitutionally required.”

D.C. Law 15-190 added subsec. (e).

D.C. Law 17-25 rewrote the section.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90-day) amendment of section, see § 2 of the Sentencing Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Act 13-410, August 11, 2000, 47 DCR 7271).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of the Sentencing Reform Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Act 13-462, November 7, 2000, 47 DCR 9443).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Sentencing Reform Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2001 (D.C. Act 14-2, February 2, 2001, 48 DCR 2239).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Sentencing Reform Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2001 (D.C. Act 14-51, May 2, 2001, 48 DCR 4370).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Advisory Commission on Sentencing Structured Sentencing System Pilot Program Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-437, May 21, 2004, 51 DCR 5957).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Advisory Commission on Sentencing Structured Sentencing System Pilot Program Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-510, August 2, 2004, 51 DCR 8967).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(f) of District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-72, July 20, 2007, 54 DCR 7401).

§ 3–106. Analysis of correctional impact.

Any recommendations by the Commission for regulatory changes or legislative amendments relating to crime, sentencing, or correctional matters shall take into consideration existing correctional and supervisory resources, including the availability of intermediate sanctions, and shall be accompanied by an assessment of the impact, if any, on the size of the District’s correctional and supervised offender population resulting from such change. The Commission shall not recommend such changes unless it has made an assessment that the costs of a recommended change would be commensurate with the benefits to criminal justice administration, without regard to the identity of the particular governmental body responsible for financing the correctional facilities or services at issue.

§ 3–107. Budget and staffing.

(a) There are authorized such funds as may be necessary to support the Commission.

(b) The Commission has the authority to hire staff and to obtain appropriate office space, equipment, materials, and services necessary to carry out its responsibilities. The Commission shall serve as the personnel authority for all employees of the Commission. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the provisions of Chapter 6 of Title 1 shall apply to the Commission.

(c) Any entitlement to compensation under this chapter for services rendered shall be dependent upon the availability of appropriated funds to pay such compensation.

(d) Employees of the Commission who were hired before October 3, 2001, shall be exempt from the requirement that they be residents of the District of Columbia. Any person hired after October 3, 2001, shall be, or shall become with 180 days of hire, a resident of the District of Columbia. The Director of Personnel may waive the residency requirement for any individual appointed to a hard-to-fill position under this section.

§ 3–108. Cooperation from other agencies.

Agencies of the District of Columbia government shall cooperate in providing such information to the Commission as may be necessary to fulfill its statutory responsibilities.