‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except to the extent other-
wise provided by law— 
‘‘(A) a prisoner confined and serving a 
definite term or terms of imprisonment of more 
than 1 year shall be eligible for release on pa-
role after serving 33.3 percent of such term or 
terms; and 
‘‘(B) a prisoner confined and serving a life 
sentence shall be eligible for release on parole 
after serving 10 years. 
‘‘(2) TERMS OF LESS THAN 1 YEAR.—Any pris-
oner sentenced to imprisonment for a term or terms 
of not less than 6 months, and not more than 1 
year, shall be released at the expiration of such sen-
tence, unless the court which imposed sentence shall, 
at the time of sentencing, provide for the prisoner’s 
release after service of 33.3 percent of such term or 
terms, which shall be deemed to be as if released on 
parole. This paragraph shall not prevent delivery of 
any person released on parole to the authorities of 
any State otherwise entitled to custody of the per-
son. 
‘‘(b) DETERMINATIONS BY COURT.—Upon entering 
a judgment of conviction, the court having jurisdiction to 
impose sentence, when in its opinion the ends of justice 
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and best interest of the public require that the defendant 
be sentenced to imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year, 
may— 
‘‘(1) designate in the sentence of imprisonment 
imposed a minimum term at the expiration of which 
the defendant shall become eligible for parole, which 
term may not be more than 33.3 percent of the max-
imum sentence imposed by the court; or 
‘‘(2) fix the maximum sentence of imprisonment 
to be served by the defendant, in which event the 
court may specify that the defendant may be re-
leased on parole at such time as the Commission 
may determine. 
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court desires more 
detailed information as a basis for determining the 
sentence to be imposed, the court may commit the 
defendant to the custody of the Attorney General, 
which commitment shall be deemed to be for the 
maximum sentence of imprisonment prescribed by 
law, for a study as described in subsection (d). 
‘‘(2) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF DI-
RECTOR.—Not later than 3 months after a defend-
ant is committed under paragraph (1), unless the 
court grants additional time, not to exceed 3 
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months, for further study, the results of the study 
described in subsection (d), together with any rec-
ommendations which the Director believes would be 
helpful in determining the disposition of the case, 
shall be furnished to the court. 
‘‘(3) SENTENCING AFTER ADDITIONAL INFOR-
MATION.—After receiving a report and recommenda-
tions under paragraph (2), the court may in its dis-
cretion— 
‘‘(A) place the offender on probation in ac-
cordance with subchapter A; or 
‘‘(B)(i)(I) affirm the sentence of imprison-
ment originally deemed to be imposed; or 
‘‘(II) reduce the sentence of imprisonment; 
and 
‘‘(ii) commit the offender under any appli-
cable provision of law. 
‘‘(4) RUNNING OF TERM.—The term of a sen-
tence imposed under paragraph (3) shall run from 
the date of original commitment under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(d) STUDY UPON COMMITMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Upon commitment of a 
prisoner sentenced to imprisonment under sub-
section (a) or (b), the Director, under such regula-
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tions as the Attorney General may prescribe, shall 
cause a complete study to be made of the prisoner 
and shall furnish to the Commission a summary re-
port together with any recommendations which in 
the opinion of the Director would be helpful in deter-
mining the suitability of the prisoner for parole. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A report under paragraph 
(1) may include— 
‘‘(A) data regarding the prisoner’s previous 
delinquency or criminal experience; 
‘‘(B) pertinent circumstances of the social 
background, capabilities, and mental and phys-
ical health of the prisoner; and 
‘‘(C) consideration of such other factors as 
may be considered pertinent. 
‘‘(3) STUDY BY COMMISSION.—The Commission 
may make such other investigation relating to a 
prisoner as it may determine necessary. 
‘‘(e) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Upon request of 
the Commission, it shall be the duty of the various proba-
tion officers and agencies of the Federal Government to 
furnish the Commission— 
‘‘(1) information available to such officer or 
agency concerning any eligible prisoner or parolee; 
and 
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‘‘(2) whenever not incompatible with the public 
interest, their views and recommendation with re-
spect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the 
Commission. 
‘‘(f) REDUCTION OF MINIMUM TERM.—At any time, 
upon motion of the Director, the court may reduce any 
minimum term before a prisoner may be released on pa-
role to the time the prisoner has served. The court shall 
have jurisdiction to act upon the application at any time 
and no hearing shall be required. 
‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub-
chapter shall be construed to provide that any prisoner 
shall be eligible for release on parole if such prisoner is 
ineligible for such release under any other provision of law. 
‘‘§ 3635. Parole determination criteria 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and 
(c), and in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the 
Commission under section 3632, an eligible prisoner shall 
be released on parole if— 
‘‘(1) the eligible prisoner has substantially ob-
served the rules of the institution or institutions to 
which the eligible prisoner has been confined; and 
‘‘(2) the Commission, upon consideration of the 
nature and circumstances of the offense and the his-
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tory and characteristics of the eligible prisoner, de-
termines that release would not— 
‘‘(A) depreciate the seriousness of the of-
fense or promote disrespect for the law; or 
‘‘(B) jeopardize the public welfare. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the guidelines 
promulgated by the Commission under section 3632, the 
Commission may grant or deny release on parole if it de-
termines there is good cause for so doing. 
‘‘(c) NOTICE.—The Commission shall furnish an eli-
gible prisoner with a written notice of its determination 
(including any determination described in subsection (b)) 
not later than 21 days, excluding holidays, after the date 
of the parole determination proceeding. If parole is denied, 
such notice shall state with particularity the reasons for 
such denial. 
‘‘(d) CERTAIN PRISONERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
any prisoner serving a term or terms of imprison-
ment of 5 years or longer, who is not earlier released 
under this section or any other applicable provision 
of law, shall be released on parole— 
‘‘(A) on the date on which the prisoner has 
served 66.6 percent of each consecutive term or 
terms; or 
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‘‘(B) for a prisoner serving consecutive 
term or terms of imprisonment of more than 45 
years (including any life term), the earlier of— 
‘‘(i) the date described in subpara-
graph (A); or 
‘‘(ii) the date on which the prisoner 
has served 30 years. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The Commission shall not 
release a prisoner under paragraph (1) if it deter-
mines that— 
‘‘(A) the prisoner has seriously or fre-
quently violated institution rules and regula-
tions; or 
‘‘(B) there is a reasonable probability that 
the prisoner will commit any Federal, State, or 
local crime. 
‘‘§ 3636. Information considered 
‘‘In making a determination under this subchapter 
relating to release on parole of an eligible prisoner, the 
Commission shall consider, if available and relevant— 
‘‘(1) reports and recommendations which the 
staff of the facility in which such eligible prisoner is 
confined may make; 
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‘‘(2) official reports of the eligible prisoner’s 
prior criminal record, including a report or record of 
earlier probation and parole experiences; 
‘‘(3) presentence investigation reports; 
‘‘(4) recommendations regarding the eligible 
prisoner’s parole made at the time of sentencing by 
the sentencing judge; 
‘‘(5) reports of physical, mental, or psychiatric 
examination of the eligible prisoner; and 
‘‘(6) such additional relevant information con-
cerning the eligible prisoner (including information 
submitted by the eligible prisoner) as may be reason-
ably available. 
‘‘§ 3637. Parole determination proceeding; time 
‘‘(a) PROCEEDINGS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In making a determination 
under this subchapter (relating to parole), the Com-
mission shall conduct a parole determination pro-
ceeding unless it determines on the basis of the eligi-
ble prisoner’s record that the eligible prisoner will be 
released on parole. 
‘‘(2) TIMING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever feasible, the 
initial parole determination proceeding for a 
prisoner eligible for parole under subsection 
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(a)(1) or (b)(1) of section 3634 shall be held 
not later than 30 days before the date of such 
eligibility for parole. 
‘‘(B) OTHER
PROCEEDINGS.—Whenever 
feasible, the initial parole determination pro-
ceeding for a prisoner eligible for parole under 
section 3634(b)(2) or who was released on pa-
role, and whose parole has been revoked, shall 
be held not later than 120 days following such 
prisoner’s imprisonment or reimprisonment in a 
Federal institution, as the case may be. 
‘‘(3) WAIVER.—An eligible prisoner may know-
ingly and intelligently waive any parole determina-
tion proceeding. 
‘‘(b) NOTICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days be-
fore a parole determination proceeding relating to an 
eligible prisoner, the eligible prisoner shall be pro-
vided with— 
‘‘(A) written notice of the time and place 
of the proceeding; and 
‘‘(B) reasonable access to any reports or 
other documents to be used by the Commission 
in making its determination. 
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‘‘(2) WAIVER.—An eligible prisoner may waive 
notice of a parole determination proceeding, except 
that if notice is not waived, the proceeding shall be 
held during the next regularly scheduled proceedings 
by the Commission at the institution in which the el-
igible prisoner is confined. 
‘‘(c) WITHHOLDING OF CERTAIN MATERIALS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b)(1)(B) shall 
not apply to— 
‘‘(A) diagnostic opinions which, if made 
known to the eligible prisoner, could lead to a 
serious disruption of the institutional program; 
‘‘(B) any document which reveals sources 
of information obtained upon a promise of con-
fidentiality; or 
‘‘(C) any other information which, if dis-
closed, might result in harm, physical or other-
wise, to any person. 
‘‘(2) SUMMARIES.—If access to a report or 
other document is not provided by the Commission, 
the Bureau of Prisons, or any other agency under 
paragraph (1), the Commission, the Bureau, or such 
other agency, respectively, shall provide to the eligi-
ble prisoner a summary of the basic contents of the 
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material withheld, bearing in mind the need for con-
fidentiality and the impact on the eligible prisoner. 
‘‘(d) CONSULTATION AND REPRESENTATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period before a 
parole determination proceeding described in sub-
section (b)(1), an eligible prisoner may consult, as 
provided by the Director, with a representative as 
referred to in paragraph (2), and by mail or other-
wise with any person concerning such proceeding. 
‘‘(2) REPRESENTATION
AT
PROCEEDING.—An 
eligible prisoner shall, if the eligible prisoner choos-
es, be represented at the parole determination pro-
ceeding by a representative who qualifies under rules 
promulgated by the Commission. Such rules shall 
not exclude attorneys as a class. 
‘‘(e) TESTIMONY BY ELIGIBLE PRISONER.—An eligi-
ble prisoner shall be allowed to appear and testify on his 
or her own behalf at the parole determination proceeding. 
‘‘(f) RECORDS.—A full and complete record of every 
parole determination proceeding shall be retained by the 
Commission. Upon request, the Commission shall make 
available to any eligible prisoner such record as the Com-
mission may retain of the parole determination pro-
ceeding. 
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‘‘(g) CONFERENCE IF DENIED.—If parole is denied, 
and if feasible— 
‘‘(1) a personal conference to explain the rea-
sons for the denial shall be held between the eligible 
prisoner and the Commissioners or examiners con-
ducting the proceeding at the conclusion of the pro-
ceeding; and 
‘‘(2) the conference shall include advice to the 
eligible prisoner as to what steps may be taken to 
enhance the chance of being released at a subse-
quent proceeding. 
‘‘(h) SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS IF DENIED.—In 
any case in which release on parole is not granted, subse-
quent parole determination proceedings shall be held not 
less frequently than every— 
‘‘(1) 18 months in the case of an eligible pris-
oner serving a term or terms of imprisonment of 
more than 1 year and less than 7 years; and 
‘‘(2) 24 months in the case of an eligible pris-
oner serving a term or terms of imprisonment of not 
less than 7 years. 
‘‘§ 3638. Conditions of parole 
‘‘(a) CONDITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) NO OTHER CRIMES.—In every case, the 
Commission shall impose as a condition of parole 
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