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About Institutional Hearings

All release, rescission and revocation hearings held at the Department of Correction (DOC) and House of Correction (HOC) facilities are referred to as institutional hearings.

The Transitional Services Unit (TSU) is responsible for preparing all DOC and HOC release, revocation, and rescission hearings to be heard by the Parole Board. The TSU compiles all necessary case information for the Parole Board to make an informed judgment on each case. Duties include data entry for all inmates committed across the state, date calculations to determine parole eligibility and discharge dates, as well as preparing inmates for hearings, which includes interviewing the inmate to complete a risk/need assessment. In addition to scheduling, coordinating, and facilitating all Parole Board hearings held at the institutions, TSU also processes Parole Board office votes. The execution of parole release permits and coordination of transition of inmates to the community is also the responsibility of the TSU. Finally, this unit tracks parole violation warrants and coordinates preliminary revocation hearings in conjunction with Hearing Examiners, for parolees who are returned to custody.

Release Hearings

The majority of institutional hearings held comprise of release hearings. The inmates who are granted a positive vote by the Parole Board during these hearings, may be released to supervision of field parole officers in one of the nine parole regions across the Commonwealth in a majority of cases. They could also be released to out of state supervision through the Interstate Compact Unit or to serve another state or federal sentence, or to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody to make a determination of deportation. In a minority of cases, inmates are also released to a Massachusetts DOC or HOC facility.

Rescission Hearings

Rescission hearings are held when the Parole Board exercises its discretion to re-visit a prior decision to grant parole, due to a change in circumstances following the date of the inmate’s parole hearing to determine whether or not to withdraw, postpone, or allow the inmate’s prior positive parole vote to stand. A change of circumstance that prompts the Parole Board to hold a rescission hearing could be when the inmate has received new disciplinary infractions for institutional misconduct or availability of new information since the date of the hearing (i.e. an outstanding warrant).

Revocation Hearings

When a parolee violates one or more conditions of parole, revocation hearings are held to determine if a parolee’s parole permit may be permanently or temporarily revoked.  

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