Our Office

Print (Imprimir)Print (Imprimir)

Our Office

The U.S. Pretrial and Probation Office goal is to provide the fair administration of justice, protect the community, and prevent recidivism while promoting our clients’ positive reinsertion in society.  We provide several programs such as substance abuse and mental health treatment, and employment training referrals in order to address the particular needs of our clients.  Our office is distributed in the following division:  Pretrial Bail, Pretrial supervision; Presentence and Post-Conviction Supervision.

 

We are committed to excellence as a system and to the principles embodied in this Charter:  Charter of Excellence

 

Pretrial Services

The Pretrial Services Office was created in order to prevent or reduce crime by the persons released to the community pending trial and to ensure these individuals are not detained unnecessarily. Our office conducts bail investigations for The Court and supervises those defendants released on bail. 

 
Bail Division:

When a person is arrested, the arresting agency will bring the defendant (arrestee) to Pretrial Services for an interview.  The purpose of this interview is to obtain bail related information from the defendant in order to prepare a report for the Magistrate Judge who will determine if the defendant will be released on bail or be detained through the process of his or her case.  The case WILL NOT be discussed in this interview.

After the bail interview, the defendant will attend an initial hearing where the Magistrate Judge will read the indictment or complaint and the charges that the defendant is being charged for.  Also, if the defendant cannot afford to pay for an attorney, the government will provide one for him or her.  Usually, the bail hearing is held on another date which is set in the initial hearing.

 

Pretrial Supervision:

If the defendant is released on bail, he or she must have to report to our supervision division and follow all the release conditions set by the Court.  An 

U.S. Probation Officer will be assigned to the defendant to ensure that defendant comply with all court ordered conditions.  Any doubts regarding conditions or the supervision process should be consulted with the Probation Officer.

 

Presentence Reports

Once the offender has pled guilty or has been found guilty, the case is referred to our office in order to prepare a presentence report.  This report is prepared by an U.S. Probation Officer to assist in the sentencing.  This report includes offender’s demographic, background, criminal and current charges information.

 

The offender will be interviewed by the Probation Officer as part of the presentence process. The Probation Officer will gather information by conducting interviews, documents and collateral investigations and will prepare the presentence report in accordance with the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The presentence report assists the Court in the sentencing of federal offenders.

The Court can sentence an offender to probation or incarceration followed by a supervised term.  Probation is court order sentenced as an alternative to prison sentence. Once the offender is released from prison or sentenced to probation, he or she needs to reports to our Supervision Unit.

 

Supervision

There are two types of supervision: Pretrial (before sentence) and Post-Conviction (after sentencing). If a defendant has been released on bond, he or she will have to be under pretrial supervision during the case process court proceedings.  Post-Conviction supervision occurs when offenders have been sentenced to probation or released from incarceration.

As in pretrial supervision, there are supervision conditions that need to be accomplished. Once released, the offender has forty eight (48) hours to report to our office. An U.S. Probation Officer will be assign to the offender to oversee his supervision term and to make sure they comply with the conditions ordered by the Court.