The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Loeb, 45 F.3d 719 (2nd Cir. 1995):
Where a defendant is sentenced on multiple counts under a single indictment, the district court must correlate the defendant's combined offense level with the appropriate criminal history category, and arrive at a sentencing range for the convictions. This represents the defendant's "total punishment range." See United States v. Kings, 981 F.2d 790, 797 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2450, 124 L.Ed.2d 666 (1993). Against this background, the district court evaluates the facts and circumstances of the case and identifies what it deems to be the appropriate sentence for the defendant's convictions. This sentence is referred to as the "total punishment." See id. at 798. Before imposing this sentence, however, the district court must also calculate the defendant's statutory maximum sentence for the offenses and determine whether the sentences should run concurrently or consecutively. See id.
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