The question of the nature of the role of the probation officer in Federal guidelines sentencing is a fundamental and recurring one. The case of Koon v. United States focuses renewed attention on the role of the officer in discussing and recommending departures and provides guidance for carrying out that role. The purpose of this article is to draw together the existing legal authority defining the role of the probation officer at sentencing and to make the case that preservation of an independent role for the probation officer is in the sentencing court's interest in order to ensure that the court receives objective information, that is, information separate from that agreed to or stipulated to by the parties, upon which to make the necessary sentencing determinations. It also examines new criteria for analyzing when a departure is appropriate, set out in Koon, and discusses the renewed importance of the probation officer's role in applying those criteria in the presentence report. Notes