What is the impact of a criminal conviction on the individual's future?

Contrary to the district court's assumptions, sentences imposed under the Guidelines do not impose the only consequence of committing a crime, nor is it intended that they be the only consequence. To the contrary, the societal consequences that flow from a criminal conviction are virtually unlimited. Individuals may lose their jobs or be foreclosed from serving in future professions; their marriages are destroyed; they may be plunged into poverty. Some individuals may be deported, see United States v. Alvarez-Cardenas, 902 F.2d 734, 737 (9th Cir.1990), while those who have been convicted of drug or racketeering offenses may lose their homes and their investments to the federal government in forfeiture proceedings. World class figure skaters may lose the right to compete in international competition. Virtually all individuals who are convicted of serious crimes suffer humiliation and shame, and many may be ostracized by their communities.