Parole Decision Appeals Process
Parole Hearing Appeals
Tennessee Code Annotated 40-28-105 (d)(11) mandates an appeal review process for offenders whose parole has been denied, revoked or rescinded. It also establishes the criteria for appellate reviews. Responsibility for managing the parole hearing appellate review process is assigned to the Parole Hearings Officers Division. Appellate reviews may be granted for any of the following reasons:
- Significant new information that was not available at the time of the hearing;
- Misconduct by the hearings official;
- Significant procedural error(s) by the hearings official.
The Parole Hearings Officers Division central office staff employs a three-tier review process to review appeals. Appeals that meet the above criteria are forwarded to Board Members for review and final instructions specific to the appeal. Appeal requests must be submitted no later than 45 days after the offender receives notification of the Board's final parole decision. If the Board directs that an appeal hearing should be granted, the hearing will be scheduled on the next available docket and the decision from that hearing is final.
Parole Revocation/Rescission Review Pursuant to 40-28-122(g)
Tennessee Code Annotated 40-28-122 (g) provides for a review process for offenders whose parole has been revoked or rescinded based solely on new charges. Notifications must be submitted in writing to the Board in accordance with the provisions of the law, which may be found here. Offenders or their attorneys who wish to submit a review request based on this law should use this form.
Pursuant to statute, parole hearings are conducted in local jails, Department of Correction institutions and other locations within the state for all eligible offenders who come under the purview of the Board. Parole Hearings Officers conduct hearings in the following categories:
Grant hearing: A hearing held to consider an eligible offender for release from incarceration to parole supervision.
Preliminary parole revocation hearing: Also known as a probable cause hearing. Such hearings are conducted by a Parole Hearings Officer to determine if the offender likely violated a condition of his/her parole.
Final revocation hearing: A hearing held to determine whether an offender has violated the conditions of his parole. Following a revocation hearing, parole supervision may either be revoked or reinstated.
Custodial hearing: A hearing in which parole from one sentence to another is considered.
Pre-parole rescission hearing: A hearing procedure by which the Board may terminate an inmate's grant of parole before the inmate is actually released on parole, due to conduct, violations or omissions committed by such inmate prior to his or her release, or pertinent information that was not available at the time of the hearing.
Post-parole rescission hearing: A hearing to by which the Board may terminate an offender's grant of parole after such offender is actually released on parole, due to contact, violations or omissions committed by such offender, significant information fraudulently given or withheld by the offender or on behalf of the offender, or other information the Board was unaware of at the time of the parole grant.
Time setting hearing: A hearing held to determine when to begin service of a new felony conviction committed while the offender was on parole supervision.
Appeal hearing: Upon written request from the offender or an attorney representing the offender, the Board may grant an appellate review to an offender whose parole has been denied, revoked or rescinded, if there is significant new evidence or information not available at the time or the hearing, if there was misconduct by the Hearings Official substantiated by the record, or if the Hearings Official made significant procedural errors.