Opinion ID: 687271
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Other relevant statutes

Text: 27 Morales contends that examination of other contemporaneously enacted statutory provisions reveals that Congress, by failing to authorize extension of the court's jurisdiction upon issuance of a summons in Sec. 3583(e), specifically intended to limit the court's jurisdiction. To support this contention, appellant points to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3565(c), which governs revocation of probation, and which specifically provides for delayed revocation of probation. That provision states: 28 (c) Delayed revocation.--The power of the court to revoke a sentence of probation for violation of a condition of probation, and to impose another sentence, extends beyond the expiration of the term of probation for any period reasonably necessary for the adjudication of matters arising before its expiration if, prior to its expiration, a warrant or summons has been issued on the basis of an allegation of such a violation. 29 Nevertheless, the absence of similar specific language in Sec. 3583 does not demonstrate that Congress intended to forbid delayed revocation hearings under Sec. 3583. 30 As the well-reasoned opinions in Neville and Barton observed, the legislative history of Sec. 3565, which permits delayed revocation of probation, contradicts the inference that Morales seeks to draw. According to that legislative history, Sec. 3565 merely codifies court rulings interpreting the former probation revocation provisions. Those decisions uniformly established that as long as formal revocation proceedings were commenced (by arrest warrant or otherwise) within the five-year period explicitly permitted by the statute, probation could be revoked even if the hearing and revocation took place after the five-year period. See Neville, 985 F.2d at 998 (cataloguing cases); United States v. Basso, 632 F.2d 1007, 1012 n. 5 (2d Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 965, 101 S.Ct. 1480, 67 L.Ed.2d 613 (1981). As the Neville court further pointed out, the effect of adding the delayed revocation section in current Sec. 3565(c) was not to extend the power of the court to revoke probation, but to restrict it. Neville, 985 F.2d at 998 & n. 13 (citing Sen.Rep. No. 225, 98th Cong.2d Sess., reprinted in 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3182, 3285-86). Thus, the omission of a similar provision in the supervised release section does not indicate congressional intent to deny courts the well-established power that the district court exercised here. 31 Furthermore, we cannot believe that Congress could have intended that those who violate supervised release near the end of the term can evade the court's jurisdiction entirely. As the court stated in Neville, such a result would be absurd, and we are loath to ascribe such an absurd intention to Congress. Neville, 985 F.2d at 996. 32 The other provision upon which Morales relies, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3624(e), provides that the supervised release period does not run while a defendant is imprisoned for another offense. As the government points out, that provision focuses on the running of the supervised release term itself but does not address, as Sec. 3583(e) does, the time frame within which the court may exercise its power to adjudicate violations that occurred within the conceded term of supervised release. 33 Finally, as already indicated, Congress has since amended Sec. 3583 by enacting Sec. 110505 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. See note 1 above. The amendment explicitly provides that a court may revoke supervised release after the term would otherwise have expired if it issues a warrant or summons alleging a violation before expiration of the supervised release term. 3 Morales argues that the amendment constitutes a change in the law and signals that under the earlier statute that was applied to him, the court lacked power to extend his supervised release. Morales has pointed us to no relevant legislative history regarding this amendment. Although we do not rely heavily on this enactment in reaching our conclusion, we believe that the most likely purpose of the amendment was to make absolutely clear Congress' earlier intention that sentencing courts have the authority to hold hearings to revoke or extend supervised release after expiration of the original term if they issue a summons or warrant during the release period.