Introduction The US court system carrying out sentences for serious criminal misdemeanor utilizes a set of Federal Sentencing Guidelines developed by the United States Sentencing Commission. These rules are obligatory for judges sentencing criminals and provide common federal procedure directions necessary to unify the measures within the US courts. Controlled substance trafficking is one of the issues addressed in the guidelines. According to the suggested scenario, the offender, Ben Smith, pled guilty to the distribution of 5 kilograms of cocaine. It is vital to study the guidelines to find necessary information about the sentence for the offender, as well as the supporting criteria facilitating sentence imposition. The defenders should thoroughly utilize the background information about the offender and the core ideas of the federal guidelines to provide optimal data for a judge imposing a sentence. Main body The offender, Ben Smith, is being sentenced for a controlled substance possession and distribution. According to the case, he pled guilty to trafficking 5 kilograms of cocaine. Such an amount of drug is classified as a level 30 offense and requires a sentence from 97 to 121 months of imprisonment for a felon with no criminal history points (United States Sentencing Commission, 2018). Thus, the federal sentencing guidelines provide clear directions for a judge to carry out a decision concerning the sentence for a particular offender. As for the development of the federal sentencing guidelines, they were created by an independent agency in the judiciary branch – the United States Sentencing Commission. This body has developed a system of “sentencing policies and practices … that will assure the ends of justice” and guarantee equal rules on the territory of the country (United States Sentencing Commission, 2018, para. 4). The reason why these guidelines were established is the need for the court system of the USA to have a uniform program capable of addressing all serious crimes. The purpose of the guidelines is to eliminate any subjectivity or biases in criminal punishment for severe felonies or misdemeanors in every court of the country. The judges who follow common rules have little opportunity to apply personal judgment in sentencing, which keeps the judicial system within the core principles of justice. Concerning the reasons and purposes of the guidelines development, they seem to provide little discretion opportunities for judges who impose a sentence on a criminal. Given the multiple criteria and factors influencing the ultimate punishment decision, there are some ways for a judge to apply background information to facilitate a sentence. However, according to Gertner (2016), many judges consider Guidelines as an advisory tool and exercise “discretion around the margins of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines” (p. 165). Nevertheless, in my opinion, it is important to maintain a uniform system of rules to keep such a complicated system as courts under control. The issue of judicial discretion has been acutely discussed over the past decades. Federal sentencing that complies with the federal guidelines was given more discretion opportunities upon “the Supreme Court decision in United Sta