Sentencing Guidelines: Step 1, Chapter 1

Bias Check – Stop and Review Ten Best Practices

As you move through Steps 2 through 12 consider the following:

• Are there areas or decision points in which bias may be present?
• Should you allow more time because bias may be a concern?
• Have you avoided decisions under rushed, stressed, distracted, or pressured circumstances?
• Have you taken special care when you must respond quickly to avoid making snap decisions?
• Have you critically reviewed your decision making process before committing to a decision?
• Have you considered what evidence supports the conclusions you have drawn and how you should challenge unsupported assumptions?
• Ask yourself if your opinion of the defendant(s), victim(s), witness(es) or case would be different if the people belonged to different racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation or age groups?
• Have you taken notes on your decision making process?
• Have you tracked your decision in this case in relation to other cases and examined your decisions for patterns of bias?
• Have you taken into account that in minority and poor neighborhoods deep police penetration may result in disproportionately high prosecution for certain offenses?

Additional Resources

Advisory Sentencing Guidelines

Last updated:	April 26, 2019