Learn How To Calculate Your State Parole Discharge Date

(Excerpted with slight modifications from Prison Law Office, The Parolee Rights Handbook, August 2013, available for download on their website at: http://www.prisonlaw.com/pdfs/ParoleeManual,Aug2013.pdf)

FOR PEOPLE ON STATE PAROLE:
How Is the Parole Discharge Date Calculated?

A parolee who is not serving life-long parole and who is retained past the “presumptive discharge date” can calculate when he or she must be discharged from parole. There are two important dates: the “controlling discharge date” (CDD) and the “maximum discharge date” (MDD). The CDD is the date that a parolee is currently set to be discharged from parole if nothing changes. The MDD is the maximum parole term as set by statute, after which the parolee must be discharged.

Two types of events may change the CDD and MDD:

Time during which a parolee absconds or is unavailable for supervision does not count toward either the CDD or MDD. There is no limit on how long the CDD and MDD can be extended due to absconding or unavailability.

Time served in custody for parole revocation terms will extend the CDD, but only until the MDD is reached.

The pieces of information a parolee needs to figure out his or her CDD and MDD are: (1) the initial parole date; (2) the base and maximum parole terms that apply to his or her case (see Section 16.A, above); (3) how much time he or she has been unavailable for supervision, if any; and (4) the amount of time he or she has served in custody on parole violations.

Here is a calculation worksheet that can be used by any parolee, with an example of a calculation for a parolee named Joe who is serving a three-year parole term with a maximum term of four years following a determinate sentence for a non-serious, non-violent, non-sex offense.

Worksheet

Start with the date the parolee was first paroled. For our example, Joe paroled on January 1, 2013.	1/1/2013
Add the amount of time the parolee must serve before a presumptive discharge review. Joe has a presumptive discharge date of six months plus 30 days, and was eligible for early discharge on July 1, 2013.	7/1/2013
However, the BPH acted to retain Joe on parole, so his CDD will be set by his full statutory base parole period. Joe has a three-year base parole period, so his CDD is January 1, 2016. Joe has a statutory maximum parole term of four years, so his MDD is January 1, 2017.	1/1/2016 (CDD) 1/1/2017 (MDD)
Joe absconded from parole, and the “clock” on his parole term stopped running during that time. This extends both the CDD and the MDD. Joe absconded for three months, so his CDD is now April 1, 2016, and his MDD is now April 1, 2017.	4/1/2016 (CDD) 4/1/2017 (MDD)
Joe also violated parole and served a parole revocation term in custody. This extends the CDD but only until the MDD is reached. Joe’s revocation term was 180 days, but he only served 90 days in jail because he behaved well and got good conduct credits. Thus, 90 days is added to his CDD, which is now July 1, 2016. The revocation time does not affect Joe’s MDD, which is still April 1, 2017.	7/1/2016 (CDD) 4/1/2017 (MDD)
Joe violated parole two more times and got two more 180-day revocation terms (360 days total); while he was in jail, Joe got into fights and refused to work, so he did not get any good conduct credits. The time Joe spends in jail extends his CDD but does not affect his MDD. Also, since a CDD cannot be further in the future than an MDD, Joe has “maxed out” and will be discharged on April 1, 2017.	4/1/2017 (CDD) 4/1/2017 (MDD)

IMPORTANT: if your parole length seems wrong, you can challenge it (it’s a similar process to challenging a parole condition). See PG. 178 above for more information.

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