2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 24 - Prisoners and Their Treatment › Chapter 1 - Transfer of Prison System to Federal Authority › Subchapter III - Offender Supervision and Parole › § 24–132. Pretrial services, parole, adult probation and offender supervision trustee

§ 24–132. Pretrial services, parole, adult probation and offender supervision trustee.
(a) Appointment and removal. —
(1) Appointment. — The Attorney General, in consultation with the Chairman of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (hereafter in this section referred to as the “D.C. Control Board”) and the Mayor of the District of Columbia, shall appoint a Pretrial Services, Parole, Adult Probation and Offender Supervision Trustee, who shall be an independent officer of the government of the District of Columbia, to effectuate the reorganization and transition of functions and funding relating to pretrial services, defense services, parole, adult probation and offender supervision.
(2) Removal. — The Trustee may be removed by the Mayor with the concurrence of the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall have the authority to remove the Trustee for misfeasance or malfeasance in office. At the request of the Trustee, the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority may exercise any of its powers and authorities on behalf of the Trustee.
(b) Authority. — Beginning on the date of appointment, and continuing until the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia is established under § 24-133, the Trustee shall:
(1) Have the authority to exercise all powers and functions authorized for the Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia;
(2) Have the authority to direct the actions of all agencies of the District of Columbia whose functions will be assumed by or within the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia, and of the Board of Parole of the District of Columbia, including the authority to discharge or replace any officers or employees of these agencies;
(3) Exercise financial oversight over all agencies of the District of Columbia whose functions will be assumed by or within the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia, and over the Board of Parole of the District of Columbia, and allocate funds to these agencies as appropriated by Congress and allocated by the President;
(4) Receive and transmit to the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency all funds appropriated for such agency; and
(5) Receive and transmit to the District of Columbia Public Defender Service all funds appropriated for such agency.
(c) Compensation. — The Trustee shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the basic pay payable for Level IV of the Executive Schedule. The Trustee may appoint and fix the pay of additional staff without regard to the provisions of the District of Columbia Official Code governing appointments and salaries, without regard to the provisions of Title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of Chapter 51 and subchapter III of Chapter 53 of Title 5, United States Code, relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates. Upon request of the Trustee, the head of any Federal department or agency may, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, provide services and/or detail any personnel of that department or agency to the Trusteeship to assist in carrying out its duties.
(d) Procurement and judicial review. — The provisions of the District of Columbia Official Code governing procurement shall not apply to the Trustee. The Trustee may enter into such contracts as the Trustee considers appropriate to carry out the Trustee’s duties. The Trustee may seek judicial enforcement of the Trustee’s authority to carry out the Trustee’s duties.
(e) Preservation of retirement and certain other rights of federal employee who becomes the Trustee or federal employees who become employed by the Trustee. —
(1) In general. — A Federal employee who, within 3 days after separating from the Federal Government, is appointed Trustee or becomes employed by the Trustee:
(A) Shall be treated as an employee of the Federal Government for purposes of chapters 83, 84, 87, and 89 of Title 5 of the United States Code; and
(B) If, after serving with the Trustee, such employee becomes reemployed by the Federal Government, shall be entitled to credit for the full period of such individual’s service with the Trustee, for purposes of determining the applicable leave accrual rate.
(2) Regulations. — The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this subsection.
(f) Treatment as Federal Employees. —
(1) In general. — The Trustee and employees of the Trustee who are not covered under subsection (e) of this section shall be treated as employees of the Federal Government solely for purposes of the following provisions of title 5, United States Code:
(A) Chapter 83 (relating to retirement).
(B) Chapter 84 (relating to the Federal Employees’ Retirement System).
(C) Chapter 87 (relating to life insurance).
(D) Chapter 89 (relating to health insurance).
(2) Effective dates of coverage. — The effective dates of coverage of the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection are as follows:
(A) In the case of the Trustee and employees of the Office of the Trustee and the Office of Adult Probation, August 5, 1997, or the date of appointment, whichever is later.
(B) In the case of employees of the Office of Parole, October 11, 1998, or the date of appointment, whichever is later.
(C) In the case of employees of the Pretrial Services Agency, January 3, 1999, or the date of appointment, whichever is later.
(3) Rate of contributions. — The Trustee shall make contributions under the provisions referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection at the same rates applicable to agencies of the Federal Government.
(4) Regulations. — The Office of Personnel Management shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this subsection.
(g) Funding. — Funds available for operations of the Trustee shall be made available to the extent provided in appropriations acts to the Trustee, through the State Justice Institute. Funding requests shall be proposed by the Trustee to the President and Congress for each Fiscal Year.
(h) Liability and litigation authority. —
(1) Liability. — The District of Columbia shall defend any civil action or proceeding brought in any court or other official Federal, state, or municipal forum against the Trustee, or against the District of Columbia or its officers, employees, or agents, and shall assume any liability resulting from such an action or proceeding, if the action or proceeding arises from the:
(A) Supervision of offenders on probation, parole, or supervised release;
(B) Provision of pretrial services by the District of Columbia; or
(C) Activities of the District of Columbia Board of Parole.
(2) Litigation. —
(A) D.C. Attorney General. — Subject to subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia shall provide litigation services to the Trustee, except that the Trustee may instead elect, either generally or in relation to particular cases or classes of cases, to hire necessary staff and personnel or enter into contracts for the provision of litigation services at the Trustee’s expense.
(B) U.S. Attorney General. —
(i) In general. — Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, with respect to any litigation involving the Trustee, the Attorney General may:
(I) Direct the litigation of the Trustee, and of the District of Columbia on behalf of the Trustee; and
(II) Provide on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis litigation services for the Trustee at the Trustee’s request or on the Attorney General’s own initiative.
(ii) Approval of settlement. — With respect to any litigation involving the Trustee, the Trustee may not agree to any settlement involving any form of equitable relief without the approval of the Attorney General. The Trustee shall provide to the Attorney General such notice and reports concerning litigation as the Attorney General may direct.
(iii) Discretion. — Any decision to exercise any authority of the Attorney General under this paragraph shall be in the sole discretion of the Attorney General and shall not be reviewable in any court.
(3) Limitations. — Nothing in this section shall be construed:
(A) As a waiver of sovereign immunity, or as limiting any other defense or immunity that would otherwise be available to the United States, the District of Columbia, their agencies, officers, employees, or agents; or
(B) To obligate the District of Columbia to represent or indemnify the Corrections Trustee or any officer, employee, or agent where the Trustee (or any person employed by or acting under the authority of the Trustee) acts beyond the scope of his authority.
(i) Certification. — The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia shall assume its duties pursuant to § 24-133 when, within the period beginning one year after August 5, 1997 and ending three years after August 5, 1997, the Trustee certifies to the Attorney General and the Attorney General concurs that the Agency can carry out the functions described in § 24-133 and the United States Parole Commission can carry out the functions described in § 24-133.
(j) Exercise of authority on behalf of Public Defender Service. — At the request of the Director of the District of Columbia Public Defender Service, the Trustee may exercise any of the powers and authorities of the Trustee on behalf of such Service in the same manner and to the same extent as the Trustee may exercise such powers and authorities in relation to any agency described in subsection (b) of this section.
(Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 746, Pub. L. 105-33, § 11232; Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2425, Pub. L. 105-274, § 7(a)(1), (a)(4), (b), (c)(2)(B); Nov. 22, 2000, 114 Stat. 2440, Pub. L. 106-522, § 145(a).)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 24-1232.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 22-4001, § 24-134, § 24-141, and § 24-142.
Effect of Amendments
Section 145(a) of Public Law 106-522 redesignated subsecs. (f) through (i) as subsecs. (g) through (j), respectively, and added subsec. (f), relating to the treatment of certain persons as federal employees.
Section 145(b) of Public Law 106-522 provided: “The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of title XI of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
Editor's Notes
Section 166(b) of Public Law 106-113 provided:
AUTHORITY DURING TRANSITION TO FULL OPERATION OF AGENCY.—
“(1) AUTHORITY OF PRETRIAL SERVICES, PAROLE, ADULT PROBATION AND OFFENDER SUPERVISION TRUSTEE.— Notwithstanding section 11232(b)(1) of the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 ( D.C. Code, sec. 24-1232(b)(1)), the Pretrial Services, Parole, Adult Probation and Offender Supervision Trustee appointed under section 11232(a) of such Act (hereafter referred to as the ‘Trustee’) shall, in accordance with section 11232 of such Act, exercise the powers and functions of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (hereafter referred to as the ‘Agency’) relating to sex offender registration (as granted to the Agency under any District of Columbia law) only upon the Trustee’s certification that the Trustee is able to assume such powers and functions.
“(2) AUTHORITY OF METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT.— During the period that begins on the date of the enactment of the Sex Offender Registration Emergency Act of 1999 and ends on the date the Trustee makes the certification described in paragraph (1), the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia shall have the authority to carry out any powers and functions relating to sex offender registration that are granted to the Agency or to the Trustee under any District of Columbia law.”