How to File – Writing The Motion

Previously, in this post, the filing procedures were discussed in detail to ensure any pro se  filers for early termination of federal supervision stay on the correct side of policy and procedure.

In this post, we’ll delve into the actual meat of the motion document. From answering questions like, “Why is a Motion important?” to discussing statutory factors in general, this post will be a road map for any and all comers who want off of their federal supervision early.

Why Is Motion Format Important?

Many federal probationers want to get off supervision (supervised release or probation) early. Inside prison walls, inmates are full of information about getting free before a probation sentence’s natural expiration. Most of this information is mis-informed. Do you have to do half of your time first? Sometimes, but not always. Can you file for yourself? Yes, if you know what you’re doing.

That is why you’re reading this tutorial, right?

Writing a letter to the judge can work. Sometimes. However, a simple letter to your sentencing judge leaves the door open to being ignored. A judge can ignore a letter. A just cannot legally ignore an official motion. Even if that motion is filed by the defendant, pro se.

So, for starters, doing it right means filing a real motion. Formatting, case number inclusion, and statutory citations included.

Getting Started – Heading and Title

Public Access to Court Electronic Records

Public Access to Court Electronic Records

Start with the basics. The top of the document needs to contain the court of record. If you were sentenced in the district court for the Central District of Ohio, then address it as such. Next is the party list: United States of America v. You. Then your case number. Find any filing from your attorney back during pretrial for an example of what this looks like and your case number.

Mouse-over for a pro tip! 

Now comes your document title, normally: Motion for Early Termination of Defendant’s Supervised Release Term, or something similar.

The First Paragraph(s)

After the administrative formalities are handled, your first paragraphs are still pretty standard. Start by telling the judge who you are, what you want, the law that allows him to give you what you want, and what you don’t want. Paraphrased, this goes like this:

“COMES NOW [your name in all caps], in pro se before this Court to respectfully petition for early release from federal supervised release as allowed by Title 18 of the United States Code §3583(e)(1). No hearing is sought in this matter per federal rules of criminal procedure 32.1(c)(2)(B).”

Those law and procedure citations are real, not filler. Copy that paragraph ver batim if you wish, it’ll work just fine as long as you insert your real name and don’t call yourself [your name in all caps].

Your next paragraph is a brief history of your case. Give a summary of the case so far, including sentencing district, sentencing date, sentence details, and supervision length. End it with the date your probation/supervision began.

The Arguments (the MEAT of the Motion)

After all the admin stuff is handled, start your arguments. Use policy factors including Sentencing Guidelines policy, and how those policies have changes for your crime (or crime category) since you were initially sentenced. If they’re reduced (and most of them are), argue that your sentence would have been shorter if you were sentenced today.

Find some studies that show how low risk you are to commit new crimes. Use statutory law from Title 18 §3553(a), the sentencing factors used to justify your original sentence, to argue that they no longer apply. Google some cases from your Circuit Court that specifically addresses circuit precedent on requests for early termination of supervision. Be creative.

Finally, show some progress. Court’s like nothing more that to feel like you’re fixed, and that it was the Court that fixed you. Did you complete drug treatment? Mention that. Have you had 3 jobs for the last 2 years and never missed a day? Mention that. Do you have a family that supports your new law-abiding life? Hammer on that.

Make the case, and do it well.

What We Do

Here at PCR Consultants, we know how to do it all. We do the heavy lifting so you don’t have to become an expert in all the things you just read about. If you choose to file a request to federal court yourself, you now have the tools to do it. That is, assuming, that you crafted a legally sound, well argued, correctly formatted motion that won’t get dismissed for a technical fault (like applying before the one-year point)

Our service is simple. We put together all the paperwork like any other document preparation service, except we don’t do Wills or Divorces. We do Federal Probation and Supervised Release. Get in contact today to find out how we can help.


More Sentence Commutations By Obama This Week

Sentence Commutations for Drug Offenders

Obama: Don't be Stingy with Sentence Commutations

Obama is stingy with sentence commutations

Its a sad fact that Obama has pardoned and commuted less sentences in his presidency than any other president in modern American history. In a positive recent action, Obama issued 22 sentence commutations to federal inmates serving time for drug-related crimes.

These 22 sentence commutations nearly double the number of these actions that he took in the first three-quarters of his presidency. In an article from The Atlantic, snarkily titled, “Obama Offers Commutations to 22 of 209,155 Federal Prisoners,” David A. Graham delves into the good and bad news surrounding these commutations.

Here’s How that article gets going:

For opponents of the War on Drugs—a group that seems to be growing—and those who think the U.S. incarcerates too many people, Tuesday brought some good news and bad news.

The Good News: President Obama has announced that he’s issuing commutations to 22 individuals. They all share convictions for drug offenses; eight would have died in prison if not for clemency.

The Bad News: As The Huffington Post notes, that more than doubles the number of commutations and pardons Obama has issued through the first three-quarters of his presidency. As my colleague Matt Ford noted in December, Obama has been stingy with his mercy, even by the standard of recent presidents, who have used their power more infrequently (though George W. Bush issued only 11 commutations over two terms). Ron Fournier also wrote an excellent analysis of Obama’s pardons in 2013.

Commutations versus Pardons

Sometimes these two words get used interchangeably, and their meanings get lost, so lets clarify. A presidential pardon comes to ex-cons who are out of prison and want their crimes wiped off their criminal record. Pardons usually come at the end of a president’s term to wealthy donors who have no other criminal history besides the one federal conviction to which the pardon is being requested. Translation: pardons are for free men who want to get rid of their criminal record.

Commutations are a different animal. Sentence commutations don’t take away the underlying conviction, it only erases the remaining sentence so an inmate can go free immediately. The 22 people who received sentence commutations on Tuesday would have already been free had they been sentenced under current sentencing guidelines, so these commutations aren’t controversial at all.

A Step in the Right Direction

Obama is to be applauded for his actions, while still encouraged to do more. As the title of the Atlantic article points out, over 200k inmates are still incarcerated in the federal Bureau of Prisons. Considering America has about 5% of the world’s total population, but 25% of the world’s prison population, Obama could do much more to leverage his pardon and commutation power to affect a lot of change.

Sentence Commutations are a good start, though.

A Good Week For Federal Probation Termination

The Feeling of Freedom after federal probation termination

Here at PCR Consultants we periodically like to share our success stories with readers and future clients. Since the launch of our Federal Supervision Release services, we have seen a large increase in the number of visitors seeking federal probation termination (that’s the official term for early release from federal probation) and a lot of their successes are coming in.

In the week of March 11-17th, 2013 two such success stories came to us back-to-back. Their release dates are over three weeks apart, but we heard the news last week. With the permission of the clients, we’ve published one testimonial and both of their release orders below. (Names and case numbers are redacted per client request).


These are just the first few:

Our first client was one of the first to sign up and use our online document services to prepare his Motion to Terminate Supervised Release. His motion was filed on 12/3/12, termination order was issued on 1/18/13. That is 46 days from filing to early termination of federal supervised release.

For those that keep track, he served just over 23 out of 48 months on supervision. Its great news when we see clients release before even serving half their term! Take a look at his release order.

Our second client success story of the week petitioned outside of her supervisory district because court oversight was never transferred to where she lived and was supervised. She served 41 months out of 48, and was released on 2/13/13 (docketed filing date not specified on record). Take a look at her release order.

She even supplied a testimonial, which she has allowed us to publish as well:

“My name is [withheld] & I am writing to say thanks for your assistance on my Motion for Early Termination of Supervised Release. I talked to & worked a lot with Eric prior to obtaining PCR’s assistance as well as after hiring the company. I am pleased to inform you that the motion for Early Termination of Supervised Release was granted and I am no longer under supervision or in care of the federal government or a probation officer. Originally, I had wanted to file in Colorado Springs rather than the state I was convicted in (NE) & for good reasons but unbelievably NE granted the termination & I have the papers to prove it, lol. Thank You (everyone involved) for all your help! I will be letting others know and referring your business to those who, like myself, are just a waste of time and taxpayers money. Sincerely,

Thank you for those kind words!

Federal Pretrial Primer 3: Getting the Prison you Want

This is the third and final installment of PCR Consultants’ primer on the federal pretrial phase of incarceration. The institution where one eventually does time is equally as important as how much time he or she will spend inside.

Your Next Destination

Are some Institutions Better than Others?

The short answer is: yes. Once it becomes clear that a prison sentence is unavoidable, the next question is always about where a defendant will do his or her time. This is not only an important question, it is the ONLY question that can make a meaningful difference to quality of life when doing time, and how soon an inmate can leave.

A lot of questions need to be answered, but this is where lawyers tend to fall very short. Lawyers can know a ton about criminal defense, but also know almost nothing about the inner workings of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The BOP uses its own set of standards to determine what security level an inmate “requires”. A future inmate of the BOP might assume that he belongs in a camp because he has no prior criminal record at all, but this isn’t always true.

If a sentence is too long, security levels increase. If it is too short, the certain camp a defendant asked to go to may no be given to him because it offers programs that require a sentence be certain length to qualify for placement there. At this point a judge’s opinion is only advisory, and the future inmate is fully at the mercy of the BOP. However, there is good news.

A sentencing judge can make a recommendation to the BOP of where he or she wishes to be incarcerated. If (and this is a huge ‘if’) that judge makes a recommendation for placement which is within BOP regulations for security level and program needs, that recommendation is granted a large majority of the time. If not, a future BOP resident can be sent literally ANYWHERE in the country that has room for them. Avoiding this mistake can mean months of time taken away in a halfway house and even up to a year off an inmate’s sentence for participation in the BOP’s residential drug and alcohol program.

Because lawyers make their money in criminal defense, most don’t spend the time to make truly informed decisions on what to ask the judge to recommend. This mistake is costly, but the cost of it is only apparent after one is already behind bars and its months-too-late to correct the problem. Prison Consultants, good ones anyway, have first-hand knowledge of the BOP process of inmate designation and which institutions are better and worse, closest to home, and have the programs available for each client’s specific needs.

Thank you for reading this primer. There will be many more to come which detail life inside the BOP, what to expect from a halfway house, and what’s in store for a released convict with the US Probation Office.