BONUS! NCFCA Policy Debate: Acquitted Conduct Sentencing (NEG)

Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policies regarding convicted prisoners under federal jurisdiction

Case Summary: The AFF plan passes S601, a bill currently pending in Congress.  It would stop federal court judges from considering, when sentencing a convicted offender, other charges of which the now-convicted offender was acquitted.  It appears that sometimes judges may think that the other acquittal was wrong, but since they can’t punish someone for a crime they were acquitted of, the judge instead adds on more punishment to the crime for which they were convicted.  This brief shows why this is not really a problem and why consideration of conduct even in acquitted cases is relevant to justly sentencing an offender.