Parole - FAQ

1. How is Parole Eligibilty Determined?
2. What Factors Determine Parole?
3. How Does the Parole Board Vote?
4. What are the Parole Guidelines I hear about?
5. What is Mandatory Supervision?
6. What is a Parole Revocation?
7. Is Legal Representation Required for Parole?
8. Why Hire The Law Offices of Ed Laughlin?

Question:
How is Parole Eligibilty Determined?

Answer:
For most crimes parole eligibility is based upon the offender earning 25% of his time credits. Since most offenders will receive good time credits towards the eligibility date they will earn 25% of time credits well before they serve 25% of their actual time. Crimes of violence occurring on or after September 1, 1993 require offenders to serve 50% of their sentence without any credit for good time.

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Question:
What Factors Determine Parole?

Answer:
In deciding which offenders will be released to supervision, the Board is free to consider a wide range of factors. They are not limited to the facts underlying the specific offense of conviction. They may take into account charges that have been dismissed as part of a plea bargain; they can consider also consider prior criminal history, including previous failed periods of supervision of probation and parole. They will also look closely at how the offender has conducted him/her self while incarcerated. Have they participated in available programming? Have they complied with all institutional rules? They will also look at family support and the opportunity for employment upon release. The bottom line is that the Board is free to consider anything and everything available about the offender.

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Question:
How Does the Parole Board Vote?

Answer:
Unlike parole hearing that you often see on cable television, the offender rarely ever sees a voting member of the panel. The Board votes on cases by reviewing the offenders file materials. The files are put into the parole review process approximately six months before they are to be voted. Files may be voted earlier than the designated review date. When the file arrives at the Board office it will be assigned to a first and second voter. The voters review the files individually. If the second voter agrees with the vote entered by the lead voter, a decision is made. If the lead voter and the second voter differ, the file will then go to the third voter in the office.

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Question:
What are the Parole Guidelines I hear about?

Answer:
The revised parole guidelines consist of two major components that interact to provide a guideline score. The first is a Risk Assessment Instrument that weighs static and dynamic factors associated with the offender's record. Static factors will not change over time and they include the offender's age at the first admission to a juvenile or adult correctional facility; the history of supervisory release revocations for felonies; prior incarcerations; employment history and the instant offense of conviction. Dynamic factors can change over time and include the offender's current age; whether they have been confirmed as a member of a security threat group (gang); what kind of educational or vocational programming they have completed while incarcerated; their prison disciplinary history and their current prison custody level.

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Question:
What is Mandatory Supervision?

Answer:
Mandatory Supervision" is the release of an inmate when the inmate's calendar time served plus earned good time credits equals the inmate's total sentence. For example: if an inmate had a five year sentence, after accumulating 60 months worth of time credits the decision to release the inmate to supervision would become mandatory by operation of law.

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Question:
What is a Parole Revocation?

Answer:
The most common allegations leading to revocations are new law violations and administrative violations.We are beginning to see more parole violator warrants being issued for offenders who are subject to specialized sex offender caseloads based upon the "danger to society" standard. In most of these cases, the warrants appear to have issued when the releasee failed to comply with a condition of therapy, or when a neighbor or former spouse calls the supervising officer with a complaint. The issuance of a violation warrant has the effect of tolling the running of the period of supervision. see Section 508.253, Government Code. A person arrested on a violation warrant, or "blue warrant," remains confined pending a hearing on the violation. Bail is not available for person confined on blue warrants. The revocation hearing must be held not later than the 41st day after the date of arrest on the blue warrant, unless the person is subject to pending criminal charges that have not been adjudicated, or he has been transferred from a county jail to a community residential facility, or he is in custody in another state or federal correctional facility.

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Question:
Is Legal Representation Required for Parole?

Answer:
Legal representation is not required and most offenders go through the parole review system without the assistance of legal counsel. State statutes require that only lawyers licensed in Texas can represent an offender before the Board. Non-lawyers who offer parole package services cannot appear before the Board.

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Question:
Why Hire The Law Offices of Ed Laughlin?

Answer:
The bottom line is that we offer the highest quality professional services built on a reputation of credibility and respect of the decision makers. We care about and try to address the needs that our clients have, keeping in mind the fact that the families as well as the offenders are traumatized by the intricacies of a system that is arbitrary and uncaring. While we can't change the system or solve all the problems, we can try to help you through this very difficult time.

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