Decision in Revocation of Defendant's Supervised Release

In US v. Hernandez-Ferrer, No. 09-1100, the First Circuit faced a challenge to the district court's revocation of defendant's supervised release and an imposition of a twenty-one month sentence based on a Grade A violation.

As stated in the decision: "By its plain language, section 3583(i) extends the district court's jurisdiction beyond the stated expiration of a term of supervised release...But that extension operates only in a particular set of circumstances: for the adjudication of matters arising before its expiration if, before its expiration, a warrant or summons has been issued.  Here, however, the local drug crime took place after the appellant's supervised release term had expired.  Thus, it does not come within the plain language of the statute."

Thus, in reversing the decision, the court held that the district court lacked the authority to revoke a term of supervised release based on conduct occurring after the scheduled expiration of the term.

Related Resource:

• Full text of US v. Hernandez-Ferrer