Although the theory of sentencing guidelines was first mentioned, but not adopted, in England in 1895, this was not related to guidelines development in the United States in the 1970's. Sentencing guidelines in the United States emerged from parole decisionmaking guidelines developed for the Federal Parole Commission, based upon the seriousness of the instant crime and recidivism probability. These guidelines were designed in collaboration with commission members, taking into account previous parole decisions. Sentencing guidelines have encountered difficulty, however, as some advocates have attempted to make them the province of legislatures rather than the courts. The courts' failure to develop guidelines on their own has not helped to counter this effort. Essential elements of sentencing guidelines are a distinction between policy and case elements, provision for the system to evolve, input from decisionmakers to set the base position and guide system maintenance and evolution, independence from current theories of crime and crime control, accountability based on principles and objectives, and the facilitation of research and the incorporation of its findings. 2 notes and 13 references.