	Introduction

Supervised release is the successor to parole in the federal criminal justice system. In its place, Congress instituted a system of supervised release, which applies to all federal crimes committed after November 1, 1987. Sentencing courts determine the terms and conditions of supervised release at the same time that they determine other components of a defendant's sentence, and "[t]he duration, as well as the conditions of supervised release are components of a sentence." Sentencing courts are said to have broad discretion when imposing the conditions for supervised release, although such discretion must be understood within the confines established for mandatory conditions, the scope of permissible standard discretionary conditions and special conditions, and the deference that must be afforded the Sentencing Guidelines. In any event, the court may terminate a defendant's term of supervised release at any time after the defendant has served a year on supervised release, based on the defendant's conduct, the interests of justice, and consideration of several of the general sentencing factors. When determining applicable conditions, courts consider both federal statutory requirements and federal Sentencing Guidelines. Finally, it allows a court to impose any other appropriate condition as long as the condition is reasonably related to one of several sentencing goals and as long as it involves no greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary to accommodate those goals. Courts regularly impose the Sentencing Guidelines' standard conditions as a matter of practice. The so-called "special" discretionary conditions address case-specific factors, such as the nature of an offense, the defendant's character, or another condition contained in a defendant's sentence. Factors to which the condition must be "reasonably related" include (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the defendant's history and character; (2) deterrence of crime; (3) protection of the public; and (4) the defendant's rehabilitation. In addition to earlier termination of a defendant's term of supervised release, a court may modify supervised release conditions at any time, may revoke a defendant's term of supervised release, require him to return to prison for an addition term of imprisonment, and impose an additional term of supervised release to be served thereafter. They declare that a court must revoke a defendant's supervised release for the commission of any federal or state crime punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. Upon revocation of a term of supervised release, a defendant may be imprisoned for a term ranging from one to five years depending upon the seriousness of the original crime, and upon release from imprisonment may be subject to a new term of supervised release. Constitutional Considerations

The Constitution limits the range of permissible conditions. On the other hand, a condition which raises constitutional concerns is likely to offend statutory norms as well and can be resolved on those grounds. In crafting the conditions for a particular defendant, a sentencing court will often delegate initial implementing responsibilities to a probation officer.
Supervised release replaces parole for federal crimes committed after November 1, 1987. Like parole, supervised release is a term of restricted freedom following a defendant's release from prison. The nature of supervision and the conditions imposed during supervised release are also similar to those that applied in the old system of parole. However, whereas parole functions in lieu of a remaining prison term, supervised release begins only after a defendant has completed his full prison sentence. Where revocation of parole could lead to a return to prison to finish out a defendant's original sentence, revocation of supervised release can lead to a return to prison for a term in addition to that imposed for the defendant's original sentence.
A sentencing court determines the duration and conditions for a defendant's supervised release term at the time of initial sentencing. As a general rule, federal law limits the maximum duration to five years, although it permits, and in some cases mandates, longer durations for relatively serious drug, sex, and terrorism-related offenses. A sentencing court retains jurisdiction to modify the terms of a defendant's supervised release and to revoke the term and return a defendant to prison for violation of the conditions.
Several conditions are standard features of supervised release. Some conditions, such as a ban on the commission of further crimes, are mandatory. Other conditions, such as an obligation to report to a probation officer, have become standard practice by the operation of the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which courts must consider along with other statutorily designated considerations. Together with these regularly imposed conditions, the Sentencing Guidelines recommend additional conditions appropriate for specific circumstances. A sentencing court may impose any of these discretion conditions, as long as they offend no constitutional limitations and as long as they involve no greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary and "reasonably relate" to the nature of the offense; the defendant's crime-related history; deterrence of crime; protection of the public; or the defendant's rehabilitation.
Both a defendant's constitutional rights and federalism concerns create outer limits for the application and scope of supervised release conditions. By nature, such conditions restrict a releasee's freedom, and some conditions involve systems, such as child support orders, ordinarily governed by the states. Nonetheless, federal courts have upheld a wide range of such conditions against constitutional challenges.
The conditions of supervised release have been a source of constitutional challenges. Yet a constitutionally suspect condition is also likely to run afoul of statutory demands. In which case, the courts often resolve the issue on statutory grounds.
This report is available in an abridged form, without footnotes or citations to authority, as CRS Report RS21364, Supervised Release: An Abbreviated Outline of Federal Law.