United States federal probation and supervised release

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United States federal probation and supervised release are imposed at sentencing. The difference between probation and supervised release is that the former is imposed as a substitute for imprisonment,^[1] or in addition to home detention,^[2] while the latter is imposed in addition to imprisonment. Probation and supervised release are both administered by the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System. Federal probation has existed since 1909, while supervised release has only existed since 1987, when it replaced federal parole as a means for imposing supervision following release from prison.

More than 8 in 10 offenders sentenced to federal prison also undergo court-ordered supervised release. In 2015, approximately 115,000 offenders were serving supervised release, with these offenders spending an average of four years under supervision.^[3]

Some conditions of probation and supervised release, such as compliance with drug tests, are made mandatory by statute, while others are optional. Some terms are recommended by the United States Sentencing Guidelines for specific situations; for instance, a requirement of participation in a mental health program is recommended when "the court has reason to believe that the defendant is in need of psychological or psychiatric treatment."^[4] The judge has broad discretion in deciding what optional conditions to impose, as long as those conditions are reasonably related to the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant, the need for the sentence imposed to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct, the need to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant, the need to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner; and involve no greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary for these purposes and are consistent with any pertinent policy statements issued by the United States Sentencing Commission.^[5] The possible length of supervision is specified by law, with recommendations for particular situations being provided by the sentencing guidelines. The length and conditions of supervision can be modified by the court after sentencing, although the defendant has a right to a hearing if changes are being proposed that would adversely affect them.

Violations of conditions of probation or supervised release can result in said revocations being reported to the court and a revocation hearing being held. In such hearings, the defendant has the right to be informed of the alleged violation, to retain counsel or to request that counsel be appointed, and to have a probable cause hearing. The defendant has the burden of establishing that if released pending further proceedings, they will not flee or pose a danger to any other person or the community.^[6] The law mandates revocation for some violations, such as possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm, or refusal to take a drug test.^[7] The statute specifies the possible consequences of revocation, and the sentencing guidelines establish grades of violations and a revocation table recommending various terms of imprisonment depending on the seriousness of the violation and the defendant's criminal history when they were originally sentenced.^[8]