In Fact, The Biggest Changes In 30 Years
Among the big changes coming from this year’s cycle of guideline amendments, the ones affecting supervised release are some of the biggest.
The message being sent by these particular changes is that supervised release will now be about rehabilitation, not punishment.
Beginning November 1st, being sentenced to a term of supervised release will no longer be automatic. If a federal district court judge sentences an inmate facing federal prison to a term of supervised release, they will need to specifically state why, for example, in the Statement of Reasons.
Further, a term of supervised release will no longer be approached with a copy-and-paste mentality. They will need to fit the crime and the defendant.
The United States Sentencing Commission’s guideline amendment to supervised release also directs supervised release terms to be shorter, with shorter timelines to earn early termination via a motion with the court.
For example, there is no longer a statutory minimum of one year to file a motion seeking early termination of probation.
Finally, technically violations like missing a curfew or missing a check-in will no longer mean automatic prison time – true to the shift towards rehabilitation. Instead, judges are directly to examine cases and defendants on an individual basis, and can assign an extended term of probation or other requirements to meet the needs of rehabilitation.
Now, these changes will come into effect November 1st, but it will take time to see these changes fully take hold in courts around the country. This is the first major set of changes that’s coming to how supervised release is viewed and managed in 30 years – and it marks sweeping changes in mindset, policy, and philosophy of punishment.