Federal Prison Guidebook

Description

“Each chapter is necessary reading for any defense attorney with a client facing possible incarceration… The chapter titled “How to Do Time” should be required reading for any inmate entering federal prison… This chapter (like the other parts of the book) is bursting with practical common sense advice.”

— Henry J. Sadowski, Former Regional Counsel, Bureau of Prison, From a review on the NACDL website

“I don’t want you [Alan Ellis] to leave the witness stand [as an expert witness] without my thanking you for your efforts in writing the book, […] which I refer to often when someone suggests a particular institution, I think it’s a fine source of up-to-date information.”

— The Honorable Jerome B. Simandle, Chief U.S. District Judge, New Jersey, US v. Sacks

“Simply put, the Federal Prison Guidebook is indispensable — for criminal defense lawyers, judges, U.S. Attorneys, probation officers, and individuals (along with their families) facing federal time.”

— Elizabeth Kelley, From a review on the NACDL website

“Whenever I am asked questions about federal prison realities, I always urge folks to seek more information from Alan Ellis, who literally wrote the book (actually, a number of books) on these matters. My faith in Alan Ellis as the go-to resource was confirmed this past week when I received in the mail the latest, greatest, updated edition of the Federal Prison Guidebook.”

— Doug Berman, From a review on his Sentencing Law and Policy blog

“Federal Prison Guidebook is a book unlike any other, one that can be trusted through and through in a realm where shady prison consultants often sell more snake’s oil than substance.”

–Christopher Zoukis, College for Convicts: The Case for Higher Education in American Prisons

How to ensure that your client gets into the best possible prison and is released at the earliest opportunity.

Although it is Bureau of Prisons policy to place an individual in the least restrictive facility within 500 miles of the inmate’s release residence, many inmates end up far from their families in harsher conditions than necessary. It doesn’t have to be that way.

You can take three steps to ensure that your clients do their time in the best possible facilities. First, learn how the BOP classifies its facilities, and the characteristics of each type of facility. Second, understand how the BOP decides what type of prison is appropriate. Finally, learn how to increase the odds of a favorable placement.

For assistance with all three steps, turn to Alan Ellis and Michael Henderson’s Federal Prison Guidebook.

1. Learn facility characteristics

In 400 pages, or about 4 pages each, 105 federal prisons are described under the headings listed below. Most valuable and difficult to obtain is the institution-specific information on educational, vocational, religious, and recreational opportunities.

• Education
• Library
• Vocational/Apprenticeship
• UNICOR
• Counseling/Rehab Services
• Health Services
• Housing
• Smoking Areas
• Fitness/Recreation
• Religious Services
• Commissary
• Telephone Policy
• Inmate Mail
• Visiting Hours
• Lodging/Accommodations Nearby
• Directions to Facility

2. Understand BOP designation process

16% of all federal inmates are housed in camps and community settings. The designation information in Federal Prison Guidebook explains how camp inmates and higher security level designees are selected, and what you can do to influence BOP’s scoring.

• Scoring the defendant’s security criteria
• Self-surrender
• Public safety factors
• Medical care level
• Management variables
• Central inmate monitoring information

3. Increase odds of favorable placement

Some judges mistakenly think the BOP does not follow their recommendations. While not binding, the BOP actually follows 85% of judicial recommendations. Overcrowding is making supported judicial recommendations more important. Federal Prison Guidebook explains how counsel can affect recommendations and placement.

• The role of defense counsel
• Ensuring the accuracy of the presentence investigation report
• Obtaining an appropriately-supported judicial recommendation
• Residential drug abuse program
• Community placement

9 practice tips from the book

Presentence investigation report

1. Importance of accuracy. “Prisoners often complain that they have been negatively impacted by inaccurate information in their PSRs. At a recent presentation that author Alan Ellis gave at a federal prison, he asked the assembled inmates if the conditions of their confinement were affected by errors in their PSR. 80% responded that they were. He then asked the 80% how many of them were told by their attorneys prior to sentencing that the inaccuracies would have no detrimental effect. Almost all of the 80% raised their hands. It’s up to us to reduce both these figures.” §2:10
2. Meeting preparation. “Accompany your client to probation officer meetings that are part of the PSR process. Since probation officers are overburdened, obtain in advance the forms and documents they need, and have your client complete and bring them to the initial interview. If you have any cases supporting your guideline position, highlight the relevant portions and bring them with you. Highlighted cases are more helpful to probation officers, who are not lawyers and are sometimes put off by memoranda of law.” §4:10.2
3. Drug abuse or alcoholism. “It is important for defense counsel to make sure that the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) adequately documents any drug (illegal as well as prescription) abuse or alcoholism. Many defense lawyers and defendants tend to downplay substance abuse problems, under the mistaken belief that revealing such problems can harm the client. Unless a client’s substance abuse problem is adequately documented in the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR), he or she may not qualify for the Bureau’s Residential Drug Abuse Program and will not get the chance to earn up to a one-year reduction in sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3621(c)(2), which permits such a reduction for nonviolent inmates who successfully complete a residential drug treatment program in a BOP facility.” §2:10
4. Medical condition. “Attorneys often try to magnify their client’s health problems in hopes of gaining sympathy from the sentencing judge. A focus on mental or physical problems can be warranted if it supports an argument for a lower sentence based either on Guideline Program Statements, such as USSG §5H1.3 (p.s.) (mental and emotional conditions “not ordinarily relevant”) and §5H1.4 (physical condition “not ordinarily relevant”), or the non-guideline factors 18 U.S.C. §3553(a) requires a court to “consider.” Otherwise, highlighting these problems may have the unintended consequence of the client being designated either to a medical facility rather than a camp, or to a different camp that is not the client’s first choice.” §2:10
5. Advance agreement. “When you meet with the probation officer, find out his or her “dictation date.” This is the date by which he or she must dictate the first draft of the PSR. When possible, it is extremely helpful to have the probation officer and the assistant U.S. attorney buy into what you believe is your client’s offense behavior, role in the offense, and any grounds for downward departure before the dictation date. Remember that probation officers often have a psychological investment in their original draft PSR. Since getting them to change a PSR can be difficult, put your effort into trying to get a good initial draft. That way, you won’t have to file that many objections.” §4:10.2

Sentencing

6. Sentencing memorandum. “Experience suggests that 80% of the time, a judge has a “tentative sentence” in mind even before the sentencing hearing begins. Unless you put on a tremendous dog-and-pony show at sentencing, it is likely that that “tentative sentence” is going to be your client’s sentence. The best way to influence the judge’s selection of “tentative sentence” is to file a sentencing memorandum approximately seven days before sentencing. If you can present the judge with character letters and a solid presentence memorandum that uses the § 3553(a) factors to demonstrate why a sentence below the guideline range is “sufficient, but not greater than necessary” to achieve the goals of sentencing, you will go a long way towards achieving the sentence you want.” §4:10.3
7. Maintaining eligibility. “The possibility of the time reduction under §3621(e) is an important factor in plea negotiations and sentencing. Charge bargaining can result in a better chance at RDAP eligibility (for example, by ensuring that the defendant is not convicted of a crime—such as a violent felony —which would preclude sentence reduction). Contesting a “gun bump,” USSG § 2D1.1(b)(1), or the existence of a prior conviction for certain offenses can also increase a defendant’s chances of receiving a sentence reduction for participating in RDAP.” §4:10.5
8. Judicial recommendations. “Unfortunately, some judges don’t like to recommend particular places of confinement at sentencing, believing that they are not “correctional experts,’’ or because they have become discouraged by letters they get from the BOP advising them that their recommendations cannot be honored in a particular case. In these situations, counsel should point out two things. First….” §2:10
9. Credit for prior custody. “Inmates can lose substantial credit towards their federal sentences because of the BOP’s narrow interpretation of 18 U.S.C. §3585(b), which governs credit for prior custody. The BOP interprets the statute to prohibit “double credit” in many instances for time served on a sentence imposed by different jurisdictions. For example, under BOP policy, any time credited toward another sentence (whether state or federal) prior to the imposition of the current federal sentence cannot be credited toward the new federal sentence, even if the earlier sentence resulted from related conduct, and even if the judge, whether state or federal, ordered the sentences to run concurrently. The BOP’s interpretation of §3585(b) sometimes converts a concurrent sentence into a partially consecutive sentence regardless of the Judgment and Commitment Order, because the defendant will not begin getting federal credit until the court imposes the federal sentence. There are ways to get around this, such as….” §4:10.6

Highlights from Revision 6

This edition of Alan Ellis’ popular Federal Prison Guidebook contains valuable new discussion of the First Step Act of 2018, Earned Time Credit Cares Act BOP Home Confinement Program, Compassionate Release, updates to Inmate Financial Responsibility Program, and updates to the prison directory. You receive these new and updated sections:

Chapter 1: Prison Programs and Policies

• §1:10.24.3 Federal Satellite Low-FIT Danbury

Chapter 4A: The State of Compassionate Release

• §4A:10 The State of Compassionate Release

Chapter 5: Pre-Release

• §5:70 The First Step Act—Earned Time Credits

Chapter 9: Federal Sentencing

• §9:30.16 The 3Rs of Sentencing
• §9:30.17 Sentencing in Chaos: How Statistics Can Harmonize the “Discordant Symphony”
• §9:30.18 “Drawn from Nowhere”: A Review of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s White-Collar Sentencing Guidelines and Loss Data
• §9:30.19 Winning at Sentencing With Theories, Themes, and the Creative Demonstration of Truth
• §9:30.20 Stop Wagging the Dog: A Plea for the New Commission to Incorporate Due Process and Higher Standards of Proof into the Sentencing Hearing
• §9:30.21 Who’s Afraid of the Federal Judiciary
• §9:30.22 What’s Your Water Worth?
• §9:30.23 Tilting at Windmills: The Misplaced War on Child Pornography Offenders

And more!

ABBREVIATED TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: PRISON PROGRAMS AND POLICIES
CHAPTER 2: SECURING A FAVORABLE FEDERAL PRISON PLACEMENT
CHAPTER 3: RESIDENTIAL DRUG ABUSE PROGRAM (RDAP)
CHAPTER 4: HOW TO DO TIME
CHAPTER 5: PRE-RELEASE
CHAPTER 6: SEX OFFENDERS
CHAPTER 7: MEDICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN THE BUREAU OF PRISONS
CHAPTER 8: EARLY RELEASE
CHAPTER 9: FEDERAL SENTENCING
CHAPTER 10: DIRECT APPEALS
CHAPTER 11: HABEAS CORPUS: §2255 MOTIONS
CHAPTER 12: INTERNATIONAL PRISON TRANSFERS
CHAPTER 13: PRACTICE TIPS

Prison Directory
CHAPTER 14: THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION
CHAPTER 15: THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION
CHAPTER 16: THE NORTHEAST REGION
CHAPTER 17: THE SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
CHAPTER 18: THE SOUTHEAST REGION
CHAPTER 19: THE WESTERN REGION
CHAPTER 20: PRIVATELY MANAGED FACILITIES HOUSING FEDERAL INMATES
INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Alan Ellis, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Fulbright Award recipient, is a nationally recognized authority in sentencing, prison matters, appeals, 2255 motions and international prisoner transfers for foreign inmates with offices in San Francisco and New York. He has been practicing law for over 50 years.

Alan and his law firm endeavors to obtain for its clients the lowest possible sentence and if it is one of incarceration placement, the best prison possible with release at the earliest opportunity through prison programming, appeals, Rule 35 motion, 2255 and Compassionate Release motions and international prisoner transfers for foreign inmates.

He is co-author of the Federal Prison Guidebook: Sentencing and Post-Conviction Remedies. He also publishes three quarterly e-newsletters with a combined readership of over 23,000 judges, lawyers, prosecutors, Law enforcement personnel and U.S. Probation Officers: Judicial Updates: Views from the Defense, White Collar Updates and Alan Ellis’s Updates. He is a sought-after lecturer in criminal law education programs and is widely published in the areas of federal sentencing, Bureau of Prisons matters, appeals, Rule 35 and 2255 motions, with more than 180 articles and books and 85 lectures, presentations and speaking engagements to his credit.

During the past four years, Alan has interviewed over 35 Federal judges for a series of highly acclaimed articles on Law 360 and Federal Lawyer Magazine on effective sentencing representation.

Alan has been described as “one of this country’s pre-eminent criminal defense lawyers” by Federal Lawyer magazine. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a published decision, identified him as a “nationally recognized expert in federal criminal sentencing.” KGO TV—the ABC San Francisco affiliate has called him “The best in the business.”
Alan was a Visiting Professor of Law, by way of a Fulbright award from the U.S. State Department, to conduct lecturers at Shanghai, China Jiaotong University School of Law on the protections afforded criminal defendants in America. He was the first American criminal defense lawyer ever to be invited by the Chinese and United States governments to teach in China.

In addition to serving as President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Alan also served as President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Central Pennsylvania, the Board of Directors of the Prison Law Offices in California, the Board of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, and is a unanimously elected Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers (ABCL).

Before entering private practice, Alan was an Assistant Professor of Law at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, and a Lecturer in Business Law at the Wharton School of Business and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was also a law clerk to two federal judges.

Maureen Baird, formerly a high-ranking U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ official, is a BOP consultant with our firm.
Maureen’s experience in federal corrections began in 1989 as a case manager with the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. Through her 28 years with the Agency, she continued to acquire positions of increasing responsibility. In 2009, Maureen was appointed to the position of Warden at the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury, Connecticut, and was later promoted to Warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. There, she was appointed to Senior Executive Staff by the United States Attorney General and within two years, she was transferred to a position of greater responsibility as the Warden of the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. As warden, Maureen was responsible for the leadership and direction of 300 to 350 staff members and approximately 1,200 to 1,500 inmates. During her tenure as warden for seven years, she was responsible for staff development and various specialized inmate housing units, including a high security management unit which mainly housed international terrorists who were assigned maximum custody.

Maureen led staff through a mission change at the Federal Prison in Danbury where they housed female offenders for several years and then transitioned to male offenders in 2013. She oversaw all training required to ensure that staff were well-equipped with the skills needed to work with male offenders.
In her various positions through her 28-year career in corrections, there was a great emphasis on training of staff while simultaneously ensuring the safety of staff and inmates, managing multi-million-dollar budgets, recruitment and retention of staff, staff discipline, labor management relations, as well as dealing with institution emergencies and providing guidance to the Special Operations Response Teams. Maureen worked extensively with other federal agencies, providing training to their staff. She was also a member of the Joint Terrorist Task Force, and a member of various other federal, state, and local groups. She was very active in joint training that involved, local, state, and federal law enforcement entities.

During her three assignments in BOP Regional Offices in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and the West, Maureen was directly involved in the classification and designation of sentenced offenders. She was also a member of the Security Designation and Custody Classification Task Force, which was responsible for the extensive overhaul and the modifications of this designation and classification policy, which is still being utilized today. Maureen has thorough knowledge of classification and designation procedures utilized by the BOP.

She is the author of co-author of several sessions of Alan Ellis’s Federal Guidebook.

For the last several years, she held Top Secret Clearance, only issued to a small percentage of Wardens and Executive Staff.