The Maryland General Assembly created the Maryland State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy (MSCCSP) in 1999 as an independent agency to support fair and proportional sentencing policy and to maintain the State’s voluntary sentencing guidelines for criminal cases sentenced in the circuit courts. The MSCCSP is responsible for collecting and automating the sentencing guidelines worksheets, maintaining the sentencing guidelines database, monitoring circuit court sentencing practice, adopting changes to the guidelines consistent with the sentencing practices of Maryland circuit court judges, and providing training and orientation to criminal justice practitioners who apply the sentencing guidelines.
News
Proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines were published in the May 1, 2026, issue of the Maryland Register (Volume 53, Issue 9). The purpose of this action is to clarify that criminal desertion is not a guidelines offense. This is not a new guideline rule but rather clarification of an existing rule. Additionally, the purpose of this action is to modify the guidelines offense table to reflect: (1) the addition of three previously unclassified offenses; (2) the reclassification of one offense from property to person; (3) the addition of two offenses with a maximum penalty of 1 year or less since they may be prosecuted in circuit courts; and (4) minor edits to the table, including a slight revision to an offense description and the correction of a statute. Comments on the proposed amendments will be accepted through June 1, 2026.
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