To answer my own OP question about the language:

(1) the defendant does not have --
(A) more than 4 criminal history points, excluding
any criminal history points resulting from a 1-point offense,
as determined under the sentencing guidelines;
(B) a prior 3-point offense, as determined under the
sentencing guidelines; and
(C) a prior 2-point violent offense, as determined
under the sentencing guidelines;

This language is ambiguous. There are no clear parentheses, and so people put the parentheses in different places. The use of NOT makes the implied parentheses placement important. Results of a survey:
60% thought it meant not (A, B, and C)
40% thought it meant (not A, not B, and not C)

There are parenthetical phrases that could be used. For example, "the defendant does not have all of the following:" . Or even better, the use of negatives could be avoided. For example:

(1) the defendant:
(A) has less than 5 criminal history points, excluding
any criminal history points resulting from a 1-point offense,
as determined under the sentencing guidelines;
(B) has zero prior 3-point offenses, as determined under the
sentencing guidelines; or
(C) has zero prior 2-point violent offenses, as determined
under the sentencing guidelines;

This also applies to computer programming and goals. Negative variable names often lead to buggy code. Negative goals are more difficult to focus on.

=== links ===
Pulsifer v. United States
Docket Number: 22-340
Date Argued: 10/02/23
supremecourt.gov - Oral arguments

Mistake 7: Setting "Negative" Goals
"Another example of a negative goal is to 'stop staying late at work.' A positive way to rephrase this is to 'spend more time with family.' Negative goals are emotionally unattractive, which makes it hard to focus on them. Reframe any negative goals so that they sound positive: you may be surprised by the difference this makes!"
mindtools.com - Eight common goal setting mistakes

"Avoid negative variable names. They make code harder to read."
davej.io - Negative naming

Effective Use Of The Hyphen, En Dash, And Em Dash In Legal Writing
"Differences in punctuation, including use of a hyphen rather than an em dash, can significantly affect the meaning of statutes, regulations, contractual provisions, or other legal documents."
fedbar.org - Wp content

=== note ===
The language can be structured in different ways. x1 and x2 are equivalent. y1 and y2 are equivalent. Moving NOT inside parenthesis changes 'and' to 'or' .

x1 = not (A or C)
x2 = (not A and not C)

y1 = not (A and C)
y2 = (not A or not C)