Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 22 - CORRECTIONS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Part IX - Sentencing Commission
Subpart 1 - Felony Sentencing Guidelines
Chapter 2 - Determining Sentences Under the Sentencing Guidelines
Section IX-209 - Departures from the Designated Sentence Range

Universal Citation: LA Admin Code IX-209

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

A. Procedure for Departure

1. The designated sentence range provided in the grid is appropriate for a typical case; that is, an offense committed without aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

2. A departure from the designated sentence range occurs whenever the court imposes a sentence which is different from the types of sentences or outside the designated sentence range provided in the zone and cell appropriate to the case.

3. The court should depart from the designated sentence range when sufficient aggravating or mitigating circumstances are present significantly to differentiate the case from the typical case arising under the offense of conviction.

4. When departing from the designated sentence range, the court shall:
a. pronounce a sentence which is proportional to the seriousness of the offense and the offender's criminal history; and

b. state for the record the reasons for the departure which shall specify the mitigating or aggravating circumstances, and the factual basis therefor.

5. Reasons for departure from the designated sentence range are appropriate only when such reasons are based on mitigating or aggravating circumstances.

B. Aggravating circumstance means a factor which is present to a significant degree which makes the present case more serious than the typical case arising under the offense of conviction. Factors which constitute essential elements of the offense of conviction or separate offense(s) for which defendant was convicted and sentenced shall not be considered aggravating circumstances. The following factors constitute aggravating circumstances.

1. The offender's conduct during the commission of the offense manifested deliberate cruelty to the victim.

2. The offender knew or should have known that the victim of the offense was particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance due to extreme youth, advanced age, disability or ill health.

3. The offender offered or has been offered or has given or received anything of value for the commission of the offense.

4. The offender used his or her position or status to facilitate the commission of the offense.

5. The offender knowingly created a risk of death or great bodily harm to more than one person.

6. The offender used threats of or actual violence in the commission of the offense.

7. Subsequent to the offense, the offender used or caused others to use violence, force, or threats with the intent to influence the institution, conduct, or outcome of the criminal proceedings.

8. The offender committed the offense in order to facilitate or conceal the commission of another offense.

9. The offense resulted in a significant permanent injury or significant economic loss to the victim or his family.

10. The offender used a dangerous weapon in the commission of the offense.

11. The offense involved multiple victims or incidents for which separate sentences have not been imposed.

12. The offender was persistently involved in similar offenses not already considered as criminal history or as part of a multiple offender adjudication.

13. The offender was a leader or his violation was in concert with one or more other persons with respect to whom the offender occupied a position of organizer, a supervisory position, or any other position of management.

14. The offense was a major economic offense.

15. The offense was a controlled dangerous substance offense and the offender obtained substantial income or resources from ongoing drug activities.

16. The offense was a controlled dangerous substance offense in which the offender involved juveniles in the trafficking or distribution of drugs.

17. The offender committed the offense in furtherance of a terrorist action.

18. The offender's record of convictions for prior criminal conduct exceeds the threshold for Class A by at least two points on the criminal history index.

19. The offender foreseeably endangered human life by discharging a firearm during the commission of an offense which has, as an element, the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, and which, by its very nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force may be used in the course of committing the offense.

20. The offender used a firearm or other dangerous weapon while committing or attempting to commit an offense which has, as an element, the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, and which, by its very nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force may be used in the course of committing the offense.

21. The offender used a firearm or other dangerous weapon while committing or attempting to commit a controlled dangerous substance offense.

22. Any other relevant aggravating circumstances which distinguish the case from the typical case of the offense of conviction.

C. Mitigating circumstance means a factor which is present to a significant degree which lessens the seriousness of the offense below the level of the typical case arising under the offense of conviction. Factors which constitute a legal defense shall not be considered mitigating circumstances. The following factors constitute mitigating circumstances.

1. At the time of offense, to a degree, the victim was the initiator, willing participant, aggressor, provoker of the incident, or enticed the offender.

2. The offender committed the crime under some degree of duress, coercion, threat, or compulsion.

3. At the time of the offense, the capacity of the offender to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was somewhat impaired.

4. The offense was committed while the offender was under the influence or under domination of another person.

5. The offense was committed while the offender was under the influence of significant mental or emotional disturbance.

6. The offense was committed under circumstances which the offender reasonably believed would provide for a moral justification or extenuation for his conduct.

7. The offender committed the offense without significant premeditation.

8. The offender's judgment was impaired because of his extreme youth or advanced age.

9. The defendant manifested caution or sincere concern for the safety or well-being of the victim.

10. The offender played a minor or passive role in the crime.

11. The offender compensated, or made a good faith effort to compensate, the victim of the criminal conduct for any damage or injury sustained.

12. The offender cooperated with law enforcement authorities with respect to the current crime of conviction or any other criminal conduct by the offender or other person.

13. The offender was motivated by a desire to provide basic necessities of life for his family or others.

14. The offense involved a small quantity of a controlled dangerous substance and the offense was committed exclusively to support his personal drug habit.

15. The offender pled guilty or otherwise accepted responsibility for the offense and expressed genuine remorse.

16. The offender took steps which rehabilitated him or were reasonably related to his rehabilitation.

17. The offender has spent a significant period of time free of any custody status during which he has not engaged in any criminal activity resulting in a felony or misdemeanor conviction, as defined herein. If deemed appropriate, the court may consider the suggested crime-free time reduction factors in Chapter 4, §402. E Any prior conviction or adjudication of a Level 0 offense shall not be reduced.

18. Any other relevant mitigating circumstances which distinguish the case from the typical case of the offense of conviction.

D. Special Provisions for the Use of Sanction Units in an Approved Treatment Plan. When the sentencing court finds it appropriate to impose a sentence composed in whole or in part of sanction units requiring the defendant's participation in a program of treatment, the court may exceed the maximum number of sanction units provided in the appropriate grid cell if the court finds that additional sanction units are necessary for the satisfactory completion of the treatment program.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 15:321-329.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.