When judges in the federal system sentence a person to prison, they frequently impose a term of Supervised Release as well. For example, I’m writing this lesson at the same time that a judge in Boston is sentencing people to prison for convictions related to the college admissions scandal. Recently, a judge sentenced Felicity Huffman to serve a 14-day sentence in federal prison. In addition, the judge sentenced Ms. Huffman to an additional year of Supervised Release.
What does it mean to live under conditions of Supervised Release?
It depends on what the judge imposes. Ordinarily, there are sets of standard conditions. If you’d like to read those standard conditions, download the form here. Basically, those standard conditions include:
- Report to the probation officer within 72 hours.
- Stick with rules that the probation officer mandates.
- Stay in the judicial district unless you have permission to travel.
- Respond truthfully to all questions.
- Don’t sleep anywhere other than the place that your probation officer knows about.
- Grant access to probation officer when the probation officer wants to visit your residence.
- Work full time or attend school, as approved by a probation officer.
- Don’t interact with other people that have been convicted of a felony or are that engage in crime.
- Notify the probation officer if you speak with law enforcement.
- Do not access a firearm.
- Follow all other instructions of probation officer.
In addition to following instructions, every person must submit a monthly report. The video above shows an example from one of the monthly reports I submitted while I served my term on Supervised Release. Learn as much as possible about Supervised Release early, and you may build a case to increase your level of liberty. You may also succeed in persuading a judge to terminate Supervised Release early.
Download the supervised release report for a sample of what people must complete each month after they conclude their journey through the prison.