United States Sentencing Commission
One Columbus Circle, N.E.
Suite 2-500 South Lobby
Washington, DC 20002-8002

October 18, 1999

To all recipients of the Guidelines Manual:

Please be advised that, until further notice, you should use the 1998 edition of the United States Sentencing Commission’s Guidelines Manual (incorporating guideline amendments effective November 1, 1998, as well as all previous amendments promulgated by the Sentencing Commission), together with Appendix C and the Supplement to Appendix C that was published in 1998. Because no new guideline amendments were promulgated in the 1999 amendment cycle, the Commission does not plan to publish a 1999 edition of the Guidelines Manual at this time.

With respect to the Guidelines Manual, please take note of an error relating to the precursor chemical isosafrole in the chemical quantity table in §2D1.11. That error is explained in greater detail in the enclosed letter from the Commission’s general counsel.

As a reminder, the Commission’s telephone assistance service, USSC Helpline, provides information on guideline application, guideline amendments, and related sentencing matters. The telephone number for the USSC Helpline is (202) 502-4545. Its hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. The Guidelines Manual and other Commission publications and information are available on the Commission’s web site at www.ussc.gov.

As always, the Commission encourages judges, probation officers, prosecuting and defense attorneys, and other interested persons to submit suggestions for improving the guidelines. Please send comments to: United States Sentencing Commission, Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, One Columbus Circle, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002- 8002, Attention: Office of Publishing and Public Affairs.

Sincerely,
Timothy B. McGrath
Interim Staff Director


October 18, 1999

To All Recipients of the Guidelines Manual:

It has come to the Commission’s attention that three editions of the Guidelines Manual contain an error in the quantity references for two precursor chemicals, Isosafrole and Safrole. These precursor chemicals are set forth in the Chemical Quantity Table found in §2D1.11, the guideline covering unlawfully distributing, importing, exporting, or possessing a listed chemical. The three affected editions are: (1) the Revised Supplement which, when used in conjunction with the 1995 Guidelines Manual, constituted the operative Manual effective May 1, 1997; (2) the edition effective November 1, 1997; and (3) the edition effective November 1, 1998.

The error originated in Amendment 541 to the Guidelines Manual. At base offense levels 12 and 14 in the Chemical Quantity Table in §2D1.11, the Commission inadvertently listed the quantity levels for Isosafrole and Safrole in grams (indicated by the symbol “G”) rather than in kilograms (which would have been indicated by the symbol “KG”).

Commission staff will bring this error to the attention of incoming commissioners so that it may be corrected as soon as possible. Meanwhile, you should make note of this error in your copies of the affected editions. Specifically—

The Commission has reviewed its files in order to determine whether any particular case was affected by this error and has found none. However, if you are aware of any affected case (particularly a case for which the Commission may not have received complete documentation), we urge you to immediately notify the Commission, the court, and the parties involved so that appropriate corrective action may be taken.

Sincerely,
John R. Steer
General Counsel