Just a few decades ago the sentence imposed for a criminal conviction could differ wildly from one defendant to the next. In an effort to standardize sentencing, many court systems have created sentencing guidelines or matrixes. Judges are usually required to use the guidelines as a starting point but may deviate up or down with good reason. Often, however, a defendant may qualify for a sentence enhancement which will increase the sentence imposed even more. A sentence enhancer is a specific fact or circumstance that exists in your case which allows the sentencing judge to increase your sentence. These are
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