Federal Supervised Release Must be Credited for Time Served on Prior Revocations
Federal Supervised Release Must be Credited for Time Served on Prior Revocations
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the maximum allowable period of federal supervised release following multiple revocations must be reduced by the aggregate length of any prison terms served as a result of prior revocations.
In 1999, Stephen Mazarky pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and was sentenced to 42 months imprisonment and 36 months of supervised release. Following his 2004 release, Mazarky violated his supervised release.
The district court revoked his supervised release and sentenced him to 10 months in prison and 26 months of supervised release. Mazarky was released in 2006 and again violated. The court again revoked, and sentenced Mazarky to 8 months in prison and 28 months supervised release.
Mazarky appealed, arguing that under 18 U.S.C. § 3583 his 36-month supervised release term should have been reduced by the 18 months he served in prison on the violations, resulting in an 18-month supervised release term rather than the 28 months ordered by the district court. The Eleventh Circuit agreed.
Noting that this was “a question of first impression in this Circuit,” the appellate court acknowledged that it “has been addressed in the relevant legislative history, and in the Seventh, Eighth, and Second Circuits.” The court then found that “the relevant legislative history and caselaw from other circuits indicate that” 18 U.S.C. § 3583(h) “was intended to provide credit for the aggregate of prison terms served on prior revocations toward the maximum amount of supervised release permitted by statute.”
As such, the Court of Appeals held “that, under subsection (h), the maximum allowable supervised release following multiple revocations must be reduced by the aggregate length of any terms of imprisonment that have been imposed upon revocation.” The court concluded that “credit must be applied toward Mazarky’s maximum term of 36 months of supervised release for 10 months of imprisonment served on the first revocation and 8 months of imprisonment served on the second revocation. Thus, Mazarky’s new sentence should be 8 months of imprisonment followed by 18 months of supervised release.” See: United States v. Mazarky, 499 F.3d 1246 (11th Cir. 2007).
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
Related legal case
United States v. Mazarky
| Year | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 499 F.3d 1246 (11th Cir. 2007) |
| Level | Court of Appeals |
| Injunction Status | N/A |