Records
(a) Disclosure of Presentence Reports.
Disclosure of presentence reports is governed by 18 U.S.C. § 3552(d) and FR Cr
P 32. Except as specifically provided by statute, rule, regulation, or guideline
promulgated by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, or LR Cr
P 32.3, no confidential records of the court maintained by the probation office,
including presentence reports and probation or supervised release records, shall be
producible except as set forth below or by written petition to the court,
particularizing the need for specific information. When a demand for disclosure of
presentence and probation records is made by way of subpoena or other formal
process to a probation officer, the probation officer may petition in writing seeking
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instructions from the court regarding a response to the demand for disclosure. No
disclosure shall be made except upon order of the court.
Presentence reports prepared by the probation office, as well as objections to the
report filed by counsel, shall be filed electronically under seal via the Case
Management/Electronic Case Filing System (CM/ECF). These documents will be
made part of the case record for the purposes of appeal. The probation officer is
authorized to provide a copy of the presentence report, without the officer=s
recommendation as to the sentence, to the defendant=s appellate counsel. In
addition, the probation officer is authorized to forward a copy of the presentence
report, without the officer=s recommendation as to the sentence, to counsel in
revocation proceedings upon request without further order of the court. The copy
of the presentence report shall be used by counsel for the purpose of the revocation
proceeding only. Further, the probation officer, upon request, is authorized to
provide a copy of the presentence report to another federal probation officer without
further order of the court.
(b) Disclosure of Special Conditions Within Presentence Reports.
When the presentence report is disclosed to the parties and the court, the probation
office should include any recommended special conditions in the body of the report,
as well as the reasons for the recommendation of each condition. However, LR Cr
P 32.2(a) allows the court to limit such disclosure through an order of the court.
(c) Statement of Reasons.
The Clerk is directed to SEAL the Statement of Reasons in all criminal cases before
this court and shall forward a SEALED copy to counsel of record and to the
probation office in this District. The probation office shall forward the Statement
of Reasons to the United States Sentencing Commission and the Bureau of Prisons.
The probation office is further directed to make the sealed Statement of Reasons an
attachment to, and part of, any copy of the presentence report made available to the
Bureau of Prisons, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and appellate counsel for
the defendant. In addition, the probation office is authorized to forward a copy of
the Statement of Reasons to counsel in revocation proceedings upon request and
without further order of the court. The copy of the Statement of Reasons shall be
used by counsel for the purpose of the revocation proceeding only.
(d) Disclosure of Probation Office Recommendation.
The probation officer shall not disclose to anyone other than the court the officer=s
recommendation as to the sentence.
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