Opinion ID: 612705
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Parole Commissioners

Text: An understanding of the Parole Commission itself, and how it has evolved, is also helpful to understanding Bowers' parole proceedings. The Parole Act originally provided for a nine-member Parole Commission: a Chairman, three National Commissioners to serve on the National Appeals Board, and five Regional Commissioners to make first-level parole decisions. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 4202, 4204(a)(5). Following passage of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-473, ch.2, 98 Stat. 1987 (1984) (codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. § 3551 et seq., 28 U.S.C. § 991 et seq. ), [6] the Parole Commission began a phase-out process and was set for abolishment in 1992. The life of the Parole Commission has been extended multiple times, in 1990, 1996, 2002, 2005, and 2008. [7] Beginning in 1998, the Attorney General reported to Congress annually whether the continuation of the Commission is the most effective and cost-efficient manner for carrying out the Commission's functions. Pub.L. No. 104-232, § 3, 110 Stat. 3055, 3056 (1996). The Attorney General has reported each year that it is more cost effective for the Parole Commission to continue as a separate agency. See History of the Federal Parole System, p. 2, found at www.usdoj.gov/uspc/history.htm (last visited Aug. 1, 2011). Most recently, the life of the Parole Commission was extended from November 1, 2008, to November 1, 2011. Pub.L. 110-312, § 2, 122 Stat. 3013 (2008). Although the number of Parole Commissioners has declined following the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act, the terms Regional Commissioner and National Appeals Board are still applicable. See 28 C.F.R. § 2.1(c),(e). Instead of having separate Regional Commissioners, one of the Parole Commissioners is now assigned to make initial decisions as a Regional Commissioner. 28 C.F.R. § 2.1(e). Likewise, instead of having three Parole Commissioners designated as National Appeals Board members only, the Parole Commission sits as a body to decide appeals taken from decisions of a Regional Commissioner, who participates as a member of the National Appeals Board. 28 C.F.R. §§ 2.1(c); 2.26(b)(2). These same Parole Commissioners also review original jurisdiction cases pursuant to 28 C.F.R. § 2.17. Essentially, each Parole Commissioner may wear different hats under the Parole Act and the Parole Commission's regulations  whether sitting as a single Regional Commissioner, a member of an appellate body, or sitting en banc in an original jurisdiction proceeding. At the time of Bowers' parole proceedings in 2005, the Parole Commission consisted of five members: Chairman Edward F. Reilly, Jr., Commissioner Cranston J. Mitchell, Commissioner Patricia K. Cushwa, Commissioner Isaac Fulwood, Jr., and Commissioner Deborah A. Spagnoli. Today, the Parole Commission consists of four members: Chairman Fulwood, Commissioner Mitchell, Commissioner Cushwa, and Commissioner J. Patricia Wilson Smoot, who was appointed in 2010. See USDOJ: USPC: The Chairman and Commissioners, http://www.justice.gov/uspc/executive.htm (last visited Aug. 1, 2011). Our concerns with Bowers' mandatory parole proceedings center only around the actions of Commissioner Spagnoli in 2005. Commissioner Spagnoli has since resigned.