The analysis is intended to help policymakers in other jurisdictions understand what the commission did and to help them identify issues to be considered in their own States. It focuses on the organization of the sentencing commission, the issues considered in sentencing reform in the 1970's, the legislative history of the Minnesota sentencing guidelines, and the principles involved in the development of the guidelines. Policy choices are detailed, including proportionality, the measurement of criminal history, dispositional policies, determinations of the length of prison sentences, and departure policies. An analysis of the implementation and operation of the guidelines examines political responses to the guidelines, appellate reviews of sentencing, and impacts on sentencing practices and prison populations. Among conclusions are that guidelines can link policy decisions affecting sentencing, corrections, and spending and that appellate courts will have a major influence on whether or not guidelines achieve their objectives. Problems that emerged over time included the need for statutory changes, changes related to the commission, and a method of sustaining a process for making sentencing policy. Footnotes, tables, appended summary of guidelines and policies, and index.