Print Friendly VersionJanuary 12 Supreme Court Ruling Not to Impact United States Sentencing Guidelines Structure and Form
Federal and State Law Enforcement Likely to Continue Using Definitions for Charging Decisions, Settlement Negotiations, Disclosures, and Corporate Integrity Agreements - Compliance Programs Expected to Align With Relevant Section
Chicago, IL (January 14, 2005)—Though the United States Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision declaring the United States Sentencing Guidelines unconstitutional on January 12, 2005, healthcare organizations and corporations across the country can expect continued heightened activities around enhancements of corporate compliance programs. In the 5-4, decision the Supreme Court ruled that the Sentencing Guidelines, which include, in part, a judge’s authority for upward and downward sentencing departures, violate the Sixth Amendment which guarantees a defendant the right to a fair trial by jury. Left intact are the structure and form of the Sentencing Guidelines which address six major compliance program areas: 1) culture and responsibility of organizational leadership, 2) effective communication of standards and training, 3) monitoring, auditing and evaluation, 4) reporting systems, 5) accountability and remediation, and 6) risk assessment.
According to Kenneth Blickenstaff, President of the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and Principal of BlickenWolf LLC, “We believe federal and State law enforcement agencies will continue using the Sentencing Guidelines in charging decisions, settlement negotiations, Corporate Integrity Agreements, and possibly redefining some expectations within voluntary disclosures.”
The Court’s decision specifically addressed and emphasized the importance and ongoing use of the Sentencing Guidelines as an advisory tool. Many corporations and nonprofits have already made compliance program changes based on certain Sarbanes-Oxley requirements (even though not required for nonprofits) and the recent Sentencing Guideline changes effective in November 2004. Lessons learned from applying the more enhanced and heightened standards will continue to evolve compliance programs in the United States. “The Sentencing Guidelines have been the ‘Guiding Light’ for corporate entities of all kinds and law enforcement since the original passage of the Guidelines in 1991—that hasn’t changed. Implementing the provisions set forth by the Sentencing Guidelines is imperative for nonprofits and all other types of corporations,” recommends Blickenstaff.
BlickenWolf LLC, is a national corporate investigative and integrity services firm. Their experienced and skilled professionals have extensive and on-point experience in healthcare and law enforcement to aid in the efficient resolution of complex and sensitive issues. BlickenWolf serves hospital systems, physicians and other providers as well as pharmaceutical and device manufacturing companies, claims payers, and law firms and offers a unique understanding of how the government approaches issues combined with how healthcare delivery really works to assist clients in dealing with compliance related activities and in the prevention, detection and correction of fraud and abuse.
For more information, contact:
Kenneth Blickenstaff |
Tammy Rowland |
219.771.7181 |
888.299.2197 |
| ken@blickenwolf.com | media@blickenwolf.com |
