U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE United States Parole Commission
Office of the Chairman	5550 Friendship Boulevard Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815-7201 Telephone: (301) 492-5990 Facsimile: (301) 492-5307

U.S. PAROLE COMMISSION QUARTERLY MEETING MINUTES
CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND
MARCH 14, 2002
SUBMITTED: April 26, 2002

PRESIDING:		Edward F. Reilly, Jr., Chairman
PRESENT:		COMMISSIONERS: Michael J. Gaines, Commissioner John R. Simpson, Regional Commissioner STAFF: Tom Hutchison, Chief of Staff Rockne Chickinell, General Counsel Sam R. Robertson, Case Operations Administrator Patricia L. Denton, Case Services Administrator James Beck, Research Administrator Judy I. Carter, Executive Officer Patricia W. Moore, Staff Assistant CITIZENS: Pauline Sullivan Charles Sullivan Alan Chaset

 

Chairman Edward F. Reilly, Jr. called the Quarterly Meeting of the United States Parole Commission (USPC) to order at 9:35 a.m., on Thursday, March 14, 2002, in the 4^th Floor Conference Room at 5550 Friendship Boulevard, Chevy Chase, Maryland.

The roll was taken. Commissioner Michael J. Gaines, Commissioner John R. Simpson, and Chairman Edward F. Reilly, Jr. were present. The Chairman announced that notice of the meeting and matters to be discussed had been posted in public places and published in the Federal Register pursuant to the Government in the Sunshine Act. The meeting was open to the public.

ITEM I.

APPROVAL OF THE DECEMBER 6, 2001 QUARTERLY MEETING MINUTES

The Chairman announced that the first item of business on the agenda was the approval of the December 6, 2001 Quarterly Meeting Minutes.

     There being no additions, corrections, or discussion, Commissioner Simpson moved for the adoption of the December 6, 2001 Quarterly Meeting Minutes. Commissioner Gaines seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

ITEM II.

REPORTS FROM CHAIRMAN, COMMISSIONERS, EXECUTIVE SECTION, LEGAL, CASE OPERATIONS, CASE SERVICES AND RESEARCH UNITS.

Commissioner Reilly presented his report, highlighting visits to several D.C. Halfway Homes, community care facilities, and with Father Adam, Pastor and Director of the organization So Others May Eat. The Chairman was impressed with Father Adam's work in assisting parolees with their transition back into the community. Chairman Reilly further summarized the status of the Commission's phase-out plan--noting two suggestions that were submitted to the Attorney General Ashcroft for consideration: (1) an executive order that would bring the Commission within the Department (2) the submission of a proposal to Congress for legislative action by May 1. Chairman Reilly expressed his gratitude to committee members for their hard work and efforts in making the agencies 9^th Annual African American History Program a success. A special thank you was given to this year's guest speaker, Ambassador George Haley. Chairman Reilly announced the first edition of The Chairman's Newsletter that was circulated on February 6th. This newsletter will be issued quarterly.

Commissioner Michael J. Gaines presented his report noting that it spoke for itself and opened the floor to any questions.

Commissioner John Simpson noted that his attendance at the HIDTA computer training and gave accolades to the USPC Ensemble who performed at the African-American History program.

Tom Hutchison, Chief of Staff, reported on his activities for the quarter, highlighting his attendance at several community meetings that presented issues surrounding halfway housing. Other meetings included the Interagency Detention Workgroup, D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, BOP, D.C. Corrections and CSOSA.

Ms. Patricia Denton, Case Services Administrator, reported on staffing issues noting no new staff for this quarter. There is three detail staff from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). A request for seven new positions has been submitted--three social science technicians, one parole clerk and three case analysts. Although seven positions were requested, the case analysts and parole clerk would replace the BOP detail staff presently in the unit. The BOP 18-month details will be completed at the end of December 2002.

Ms. Denton highlighted the federal and DC caseloads noting the increase in workload and telephone calls. During late October and into November 2002, the records center was closed for three weeks to test for Anthrax. As a result, the analysts could not obtain files and some actions by the Commission were delayed. Additional workload issues included the reconfiguration of the unit as a result of the change in administration. The unit is split into DC and federal post-release caseloads. There is a pre-release section that is split by regions. There may be additional reassignments between pre-release and post-release after workloads are stabilized. During the last quarter, the procedures for issuing warrants were modified. Time limit procedures are now in place for disposition of a warrant request by an analyst. The procedures allow the Case Services Administrator and the Deputy Case Services Administrator to decline warrant requests. The Commission has modified the procedures for probable cause findings. Examiners are now designated to make probable cause findings. In DC cases, examiners are conducting probable cause hearings at the DC Jail. In the federal cases, the Case Services Administrator is now reviewing cases and making a determination as to probable cause. Preliminary interviews are conducted in cases where the warrant is executed outside the District and in federal cases.

The probable cause hearing process was initiated on November 26^th. The Case Services Unit is setting up the dockets for hearings at the DC Jail. In addition to setting up dockets, the preliminary forms along with the disclosure packets are completed by Case Services. The initial dockets of hearings occurred on November 30^th. Dockets are scheduled for noon on Tuesday and Friday of each week. Disclosure packets are delivered to the public defenders each afternoon. Hearing dockets are provided to the jail and public defenders each day. Summonses are now being issued for some cases to the probable cause hearings. Significant additional work is anticipated with the Commission receiving the supervision and revocation functions for the DC supervised release cases.

Ms. Denton noted that there are 214 cases classified as WITSEC. One parole violation warrant was issued during this quarter and one state transfer case. All analysts have completed salient factor score training presented by Peter Hoffman. In addition, the analysts have participated in training for DC point scoring, federal offense severity, revocation issues and completion of warrants applications.

Ms. Denton ended her report highlighting meetings she attended at the BOP, CSOSA, and Corrections Trustee's Office and within the Commission. The topics of some of those meetings were halfway house placements and transition, 5-day holds, parole violator designations, the detention workgroup, preliminary interviews and the transfer of inmates from the Department of Corrections to the BOP.

Sam Robertson, Case Operations Administrator, reported on the Case Operations Unit activities, which included the approval and implementation of the second phase of the Commission reorganization. Staffing issues included the hearing examiner announcement closing with a total of 66 applicants. Numbers. The revocation process progress is favorable and the institutional hearing process has stabilized. Mr. Robertson noted for the record that approximately 10 months ago the Unit has been routinely processing and hearing virtually all cases on time. Other significant improvements to be expected are (1) federal revocation process in the next 90 days (2) "Commission information request process" in the next 90 days (3) continued improvement in the case processing times through March.

Research Administrator James Beck was unable to attend today's meeting. On behalf of Mr. Beck, Chief of Staff Tom Hutchison reported on tracking of DC local revocation hearings. The Commission continues to track DC local revocation hearings to ensure that all milestones are met, including the completion of the hearing within 86 days of the warrant execution date. Three reports have been provided to the court so far show that the Commission has successfully met the conditions required by the compliance plan. Where milestone dates have not been met, the reason has been due to circumstances outside the control of the Commission, such as requests for continuances by the parolee's attorney or the failure of witnesses to appear. The system tracks all DC local revocation hearings beginning with warrants executed on or after November 26, 2001. An additional tracking system is now been implemented to track all revocation hearings. When this system is in place, it will replace the PORT system originally intended to track much of the same information.

Supervised released procedures are still being established with CSOSA to issue release certificates to non-parolable DC inmates releasing to supervised release and to review these cases for the imposition of special conditions as appropriate. A work group has started to meet including representatives from the Commission, CSOSA, the BOP, and NIC to implement the NIC model for improving the delivery of services and enhanced accountability for supervised releasees under the responsibility of the Commission. Mr. Cranston Mitchell from NIC is facilitating this effort.

Training conducted by Sheldon Adleberg and Mr. Beck on the standards of conduct governing the use of the Commission's electronic information systems was held in January. As required by DOJ policy, all staff using these systems is required to sign the standards of conduct acknowledging they understand and agree to abide by the requirements. File reviews by contract staff included the review of approximately 5,000 files that appeared to be beyond their sentence expiration dates. Approximately 3,000 of these files have been archived, and the rest have either had the sentence computation dates corrected or the presence of a warrant or detainer has been noted. An additional 4,000 files need to be reviewed. This project has eased the overflow of files in the records center and has made it easier to track cases with outstanding warrants.

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Executive Officer Judy I. Carter highlighted her report by summarizing new and pending hires, reassignments, separations, details and recruit actions for this quarter. Position management included new position descriptions for the reassignment from the old computer specialist classification series and titles to the new Information Technology classification series and titles. On-the-Spot-Awards were approved for employees who performed special assignments. Open Season for employee benefits continued for the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) through January 31, 2002. Employee training included the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar in Wilmington, Delaware and three employees who are each taking a course at the Prince Georges Community College.

105 pre-hearing assessments from December 12, 2001 through March 11, 2002 were typed and returned to Case Operations either on or prior to the deadline date requested. The staff has also worked many additional hours on employee relations, human resources and pay issues.

The incoming mail function was transferred from the Office of Research and Technology to the Executive Branch on March 5, 2002. The Executive Office now handles both the incoming and the outgoing mail services. The receptionists are responsible for sorting and delivering the incoming mail to staff.

The African-American History Month Celebration was held on February 21, 2002, at the Friendship Heights Village Center with guest speaker George Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Gambia Banjul, West Africa. Other guests included the Orr Elementary School orators and the Holy Name School Liturgical Dance Ensemble. One the highlights of the program was the premier performance of the USPC ensemble. Other activities, including a presentation by the Buffalo Soldiers, were also held each week during the month of February.

The FY2002 Appropriation Act provided a net appropriation of $9,876,000 in funding for the Commission. Actual obligations at the end of February 2002 were $3,971,136. Estimated obligations for the second quarter, which ended March 31 were $4,768,200 against an apportionment of $4,136,000. Due to the delays in hiring, our average rate of obligation is below the apportioned amount. With several new hires projected for the second half of the year, the monthly rate of obligation is expected to increase.

The Commission's FY2003 budget request for 100 positions, 104 FTE work years and $10,862,000 was finalized and submitted to the Department for transmission to the Appropriations Committees in January. As their custom has been for the past several years, the subcommittee has limited its hearing schedule to the Attorney General and the major bureaus, and is relying on staff inquiries to the remainder of the Department's components for necessary information. The House Subcommittee has forwarded two questions relating to the Commission's statutory sunset date, and the need for legislation to extend the Commission. A draft of the response has been submitted to the Chairman for approval.

Ms. Carter noted the amount of congressional and controlled or VIP correspondence had dramatically decreased. During February, new management at the InterPark Company, which manages the parking garage, questioned the Commission's practice of stamping daily parking tickets for employees that do not receive monthly permits. They were advised of our goal to ensure that the Commission receives full benefit for the use of the parking spaces paid for by the government. A revised parking policy was drafted and employees desiring parking spaces were required to submit new applications. Those who did not make the final list were placed on a waiting list in order of their years in Federal service.

Ms. Carter ended her report noting some selected meetings she attended this quarter.

General Counsel Rockne Chickinell reported on the caseload for the General Counsel's Office noting the office is scheduled to receive approximately 120 new lawsuits over the first quarter of 2002. There are 60 pending NAB appeals. These are modest declines from prior quarterly statistics. The FOIA staff has so far received 174 requests in the first quarter. The backlog of overdue FOIA responses has significantly dropped to 14 cases.

Notable court cases and decisions included Long v. Gaines. The Commission has now filed three monthly reports with U.S. District Judge Sullivan on its implementation of the compliance plan in Long v. Gaines. A copy of the third report submitted in February is attached for the Commission's review. The reports clearly demonstrate substantial adherence to the compliance plan. Assuming the present rate of warrant issuance in D.C. cases remains relatively stable, the Commission should be able to conduct revocation proceedings within the time limits established by the court. The Case Operations section has also aggressively attacked the backlog of cases regarding accused parole violators arrested before the compliance plan went into effect, and it is expected that this backlog will be substantially reduced within 60 days. However, as the third report indicates, the Commission's ability to meet its court-ordered deadlines may be affected by problems in other criminal justice agencies, such as the D.C. Department of Corrections, the U.S. Marshals Service, or the Metropolitan Police Department. We need to continue to monitor intra-agency compliance with revocation procedures, and at the same time continue our efforts in gaining the timely cooperation of other federal and D.C. agencies in conducting and completing revocation proceedings.

In Madley v. U. S. Parole Commission, 278 F.3d 1306 (D.C. Cir. 2002), the District of Columbia Circuit found there was no substantial showing of a constitutional due process violation in a case where the parolee had his parole revoked by the D.C. Board of Parole, and the Parole Commission

later denied him reparole, using a criminal offense that had not been relied upon by the Board in the revocation decision. Madley is consistent with the decision in Sparks v. Gaines, 144 F.Supp.2d 9 (D.D.C. 2001) and provides further support for the July, 2001 rule change at 28 C.F.R. §2.81, in which the Commission clarified that it could make findings concerning allegations of criminal conduct that were not resolved by the former D.C. Board of Parole in a revocation proceeding, and that it could make such findings using the procedure of a reparole rather than a revocation hearing.

AGENDA ITEM:

Conditions of Supervised Release

The Commission has developed general supervised release conditions for felons sentenced by the District of Columbia Superior Court. Sentenced felons who commit their crime on or after August 5, 2000 are not eligible for parole but receive a period of supervised release to follow any period of incarceration. The Commission is responsible for determining the conditions of supervised release and for the decision to revoke supervision if warranted.

The current general condition four states that:

"You shall work regularly unless excused by your Supervision Officer, and shall support any legal dependants to the best of your ability."

Representatives from the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) have requested that the condition be modified to also require that supervised releasees who are having difficulty securing employment be required to participate in job readiness programs already implemented by CSOSA. There is research evidence that employment is related to reduced recidivism. Therefore, since the Commission already requires gainful employment as a condition of supervision, the Commission may also wish to consider requiring participation in programs designed to maximize employment opportunities at the discretion of the Supervision Officer.

It is recommended that the general condition be modified as follows:

"You shall work regularly unless excused by your Supervision Officer, and shall support any legal dependants to the best of your ability. You shall also participate in employment readiness programs if directed by your Supervision Officer."

 

If approved, this language will apply only to supervised release as a way of determining the effectiveness of requiring employment readiness. If this proves to be an effective intervention, a rule change may be recommended in the future to apply the revised condition to all offenders under supervision.

After some discussion of the recommendations and proposed motion, Commissioner Simpson moved to approve and Commission Gaines seconded. Calling for vote, Chairman Reilly and Commissioners Simpson and Gaines voted aye and approved modifications for the general condition of supervised release.

There being no further business, Commissioner Simpson moved the Quarterly Meeting adjourn at 11:00 p.m. Commissioner Gaines seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

 

SUBMITTED BY:

________________________
Patricia W. Moore
Recording Secretary