Reading Room Document

Whether Members of the Sentencing Commission Who Were Appointed Prior to the Enactment of a Holdover Statute May Exercise Holdover Rights Pursuant to the Statute

Statutory provisions that allow members of the United States Sentencing Commission to holdover in office after their terms have expired apply to incumbent members who were appointed prior to the enactment of the holdover statute. Commissioners who were appointed prior to the enactment of the holdover statute may constitutionally exercise such holdover rights without violating the Appointments Clause. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/20376/download.

April 5, 1994