In a fractured opinion released this morning in United States vs. Booker and United States vs. Fanfan, the United States Supreme Court struck down the 17-year-old federal sentencing guidelines, reducing them to advisory rather than mandatory status. The business community has been anxiously awaiting the Court’s decision to assess the impact on the federal sentencing guidelines’ requirement that business entities maintain an “effective” compliance program. That wait is now over, and for the reasons discussed below, companies should assume that the compliance program aspect of the guidelines remains in force.
The Ruling
