Appeals to the National Appeals Board

Below is the process for filing an appeal with the National Appeals Board to challenge and decision to grant, rescind, deny or revoke federal parole:

STEP 1: You may send a written appeal to the National Appeals Board challenging any decision to grant (other than a decision to grant parole on the date of parole eligibility), rescind, deny, or revoke parole.

    NOTE: If you want to appeal a decision denying your parole on the date of parole eligibility, you instead need to submit a “petition of reconsideration” to the USPC.[1179]

STEP 2: Use the proper form (Parole Form I-22)[1180] and file your written appeal within 30 days from the date of entry of the decision that you are appealing. If you don’t file within 30 days of the decision, you lose your right to challenge/appeal it.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR APPEAL:

    The appeal must include an opening paragraph that briefly summarizes the legal grounds for the appeal.
    You should then list each ground separately and clearly explain the reasons or facts that support each ground.

If you’re appeal doesn’t meet these requirements, the USPC may return it to you, in which case have 30 additional days from the date the appeal is returned to submit an appeal that meets the above requirements.

LEGAL GROUNDS FOR YOUR APPEAL CAN INCLUDE:

That the guidelines were wrongly applied in your:

Severity rating;

Salient factor score;

Time in custody;

That a decision outside the guidelines was not supported by the reasons or facts as stated;

That especially mitigating circumstances (for example, facts relating to the severity of the offense or your probability of success on parole) justify a different decision;

That a decision was based on wrong information, and the correct facts justify a different decision;

That the USPC did not follow correct procedure in deciding the case, and a different decision would have resulted if it would have followed the right procedure;

There was important information that you did not know at the time of the hearing;

There are compelling reasons why a more lenient decision should be given on grounds of compassion.[1181]

  1. 1179

    See 28 C.F.R. §§ 2.17; 2.27 ↑

  2. 1180

    Parole Form I-22, available at http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/uspc/legacy/2013/02/26/formi22.pdf. ↑

  3. 1181

    28 C.F.R. § 2.26. ↑