Most all federal inmates are placed on supervised release after their prison term is over. Your supervised release begins the day you are released from federal prison, or a halfway house. Supervised release is like being on probation or parole, only after your entire prison sentence is served. A federal Probation Officer will supervise you, and has the right to conduct warrantless searches, random drug tests, etc. Your lawyer will explain the details of supervised release to you as your case proceeds. A Probation Officer will review your conditions of supervision once you are discharged from your sentence onto supervised release. If you are on probation or supervised release, you will be supervised by a U.S. Probation Officer. Expect your probation officer to be actively involved in supervising you. Probation and supervised release involve strict rules called “conditions,” which include drug testing and staying out of trouble. It is the probation officer’s job to make sure that you follow these rules, and to report to the judge if you do not.  It is helpful to try to establish a good working relationship with your probation officer.  If you are having a difficult time with your supervised release, you should reach out to the lawyer who represented you on the federal case that led to you being placed on supervised release.

If your probation officer thinks you have violated one of your conditions of supervised release, you may be charged with a violation. If the judge finds that you have violated, you could go to prison. IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH YOUR PROBATION OFFICER OR THINK YOU ARE IN DANGER OF BEING VIOLATED, CALL YOUR ATTORNEY. Often, we can resolve a supervision problem before there is a formal violation charge.

Your probation officer or the prosecutor may file a violation notice, telling the judge that they think you have violated. You will usually appear before a magistrate judge. The judge will explain your rights and make sure you have a lawyer. If you had an Assistant Federal Public Defender before, that attorney will probably represent you. In some cases you may get a different attorney from this office. If you had a private lawyer but can no longer afford to pay, the court will appoint a lawyer for you if you qualify. Instead of pleading guilty or not guilty, you will admit or deny the charged violation(s). This may happen at a separate court date shortly after your initial appearance.

Supervised Release Hearing

For the supervised release hearing you will appear before the Judge that sentenced you on your federal case. If you deny the charges, there may be a hearing where both sides have the chance to put on witnesses and evidence. There is no jury; the judge decides what happened. It is your decision whether or not to testify. The rules at a violation hearing are somewhat different from those at trial. Your lawyer will explain more.

If the judge finds that you violated the conditions of your probation or supervised release, the judge can either keep you on supervision or revoke your probation or supervised release. If supervision is continued, the judge can change the conditions. If sentence is revoked, the judge will resentence you and can put you on a new term of supervised release. Your lawyer will explain how the Sentencing Guidelines apply to your situation.