[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 151 (Monday, August 7, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 40094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19313]



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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
28 CFR Part 2


Designation of a Commissioner To Act as a Hearing Examiner

AGENCY: Parole Commission, Justice.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Parole Commission is amending 28 CFR Sec. 2.59 by 
replacing it with a regulation which allows the Chairman of the Parole 
Commission to designate any Commissioner to serve as a hearing 
examiner. The deleted regulation concerned the authority of a Regional 
Commissioner to exercise the functions of a hearing examiner in the 
absence of a hearing examiner. Designation of a Commissioner to serve 
as a hearing examiner will be made with the Commissioner's consent for 
specified hearing dockets. A Commissioner who serves as a hearing 
examiner will not vote in the same proceeding as a Commissioner. This 
amendment replaces an obsolete rule with a regulation that permits the 
agency to use more of its resources to accomplish its mission.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 2, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela A. Posch, Office of General 
Counsel, U.S. Parole Commission, 5550 Friendship Blvd., Chevy Chase, 
Maryland 20815, Telephone (301) 492-5959.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This new rule provides explicit authority in 
the Commission's regulations for the Parole Commission's Chairman to 
designate a Parole Commissioner to act as a hearing examiner and 
thereby assist the Commission in balancing its workload as the 
Commission nears the end of its existence on November 1, 1997. See 18 
U.S.C. 4204(a)(3) (authorizing the Chairman to assign duties among 
agency staff and Commissioners so as to balance the workload and 
provide for orderly administration). Such designations will be made for 
specified hearing dockets, and only with the designated Commissioner's 
consent.
    If a Commissioner acts as a hearing examiner in a parole 
proceeding, the rule provides that the Commissioner will be 
disqualified from voting in the case as a Commissioner during the 
course of the same proceeding. This includes voting on an appeal filed 
by the prisoner or parolee to the National Appeals Board under 28 CFR 
2.26, or the full Commission under 28 CFR 2.27. This important 
limitation preserves the distinction in function between the hearing 
examiner and the Parole Commissioner in making release and revocation 
decisions, and ensures that appropriate checks and balances are 
maintained in the agency's decisionmaking.
    The Commission has decided to place this regulation at 28 CFR 2.59, 
which has been occupied by a rule which allows a Regional Commissioner 
to exercise the authority of a hearing examiner only in the absence of 
an examiner. This regulation has been rarely used by the Commission, 
and the agency determined that it should be removed as obsolete.

Implementation

    This rule may be utilized for any hearings scheduled on or after 
October 2, 1995.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Statement

    The U.S. Parole Commission has determined that this final rule is 
not a significant rule within the meaning of Executive Order 12866, and 
the rule, has, accordingly, not been reviewed by the Office of 
Management and Budget. The rule will not have a significant economic 
impact upon a substantial number of small entities, within the meaning 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 605(b).

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 2

    Administrative practice and procedure, Probation and parole, 
Prisoners.

The Amendment

    Accordingly, the U.S. Parole Commission is adopting the following 
amendment to 28 CFR part 2.

PART 2--[AMENDED]

    (1) The authority citation for 28 CFR part 2 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 18 U.S.C. 4203(a)(1) and 4204(a)(6).

    (2) 28 CFR part 2, Sec. 2.59 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 2.59  Designation of a Commissioner to act as a hearing examiner.

    The Chairman may designate a Commissioner, with the Commissioner's 
consent, to serve as a hearing examiner on specified hearing dockets. 
The Commissioner who serves as a hearing examiner may not vote in the 
same proceeding as a Commissioner.

    Dated: July 27, 1995.
Edward F. Reilly, Jr.,
Chairman, Parole Commission.
[FR Doc. 95-19313 Filed 8-4-95; 8:45 am]
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