Federal judges will be limited from enhancing defendants' sentences based on conduct a jury acquitted them of, a practice that has drawn condemnation from a wide range of civil liberties groups, lawmakers, and jurists.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission, a bipartisan panel that creates guidelines for the federal judiciary, voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt an amendment prohibiting judges from using acquitted conduct when calculating a defendant's sentencing range under those guidelines. The only exception is if the conduct "also establishes, in whole or in part, the instant offense of conviction."
