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Hearing Officer's Guide - II. Considerations for Probable Cause Hearings

When a probable cause hearing is required, the following elements of due process apply:

Supervised individual’s rights

Supervised Individuals are entitled to:

  1. Clear, written notice of his or her rights for a PC hearing.   
  2. Understand the purpose of the PC hearing and details of the alleged violations of supervision against them.  It is imperative the individual understands the basis of the allegations.
  3. Be present (unless the hearing officer justifies the circumstances leading to the individual’s absence from the proceedings.)
  4. Present witnesses and other exculpatory evidence (e.g. documentary evidence.)
  5. Confront and cross-examine witnesses.
  6. Legal counsel, if the circumstances of the case are complex or difficult to develop and present without the aid of counsel and if their due process rights would be jeopardized.

Hearing officer requirements

A neutral and independent person must conduct the hearing within a reasonably close time and proximity to the alleged violations. 

  1. The hearing officer does not have to be a judicial officer. However, to ensure an adequate and unbiased review of the allegations, they must be detached enough from the circumstances to lead a reasonable person to conclude that the hearing officer is genuinely independent.
  2. Courts have not defined what constitutes a 'great geographical distance;' however, distances that hinder the supervised individual's ability to compel witness attendance or present evidence would violate fundamental principles of due process.
  3. States should have policies and procedures in place for conducting probable cause hearings that specify who may conduct the hearing and the timeframe allowed.

Official report/record of the hearing

A written record of the proceedings must be created that articulates the facts and circumstances forming the basis of the retaking and the hearing officer’s conclusions. An official record of the hearing must:

  1. Include time, date, location, parties present and summary of the testimony at the hearing.
  2. Articulate the facts and circumstances forming the basis of the retaking and the hearing officer’s conclusions.
  3. Be provided to the sending state within ten business days of the hearing.

In summary, minimal considerations of due process include hearing the grounds for the alleged violations, appearing before an impartial individual, and having a written record of the findings. The hearing does not require a full adversarial process as it is not a revocation proceeding. In this context, the right to notice and be heard does not carry with it the presumptive right to legal representation and full confrontation of witnesses. 

References

Definitions

Click terms below to reveal definitions used in this rule.

Probable Cause Hearing – a hearing in compliance with the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, conducted on behalf of a supervised individual accused of violating the terms or conditions of the supervised individual‘s parole or probation.

Retaking - means the act of a sending state physically removing or causing to have a supervised individual removed, from a receiving state.