Presentence investigation occurs after a defendant enters a plea of guilty to a federal offense or is convicted by trial. During this phase, a Probation Officer interviews the defendant to gather information on the defendant's background. From the interviews and investigation, the officer prepares a presentence report for the judge to use to determine the appopriate sentence for the defendant.

After a defendant enters a plea of guilty to a federal offense or is convicted by trial, he or she will meet with a Probation Officer. Typically at the initial meeting, the probation officer will conduct an interview with the defendant to gather the follow information:

• family history
• community ties
• education background
• employment history
• physical health
• mental and emotional health
• history of substance abuse, financial condition, and
• willingness to accept responsibility for his or her offense(s)

During the presentence investigation, a Probation Officer will interview other persons who can provide pertinent information, including the prosecutor, law enforcement agents, victims, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, and the defendant’s family members, associates and employer. The officer will also review numerous documents, which may include, court dockets, indictments, plea agreements, trial transcripts, investigative reports from other law enforcement agencies, criminal history records, counseling and substance abuse treatment records, scholastic records, employment records, and financial records.

Normally, a sentencing hearing is scheduled 70 days after a change-of-plea hearing or a guilty verdict.  The draft presentence report will be disclosed in approximately 30 days to the attorneys for the government and the defense.  There will be a two-week period of review, during which time objections may be forwarded from defense counsel and the prosecutor.  The final report is submitted to the Court one week prior to sentencing.  Sometimes, a need arises to expedite a presentence report.  Other times, one of the parties may request a longer period of time be devoted to the presentence investigation due to the need for psychological testing, the complicate nature of the case, or for other reasons.

Please speak with your attorney about this.  If you intend to submit any letters written on your behalf by friends, relatives and/or business associates, you may provide these documents to the Probation Officer for inclusion as an attachment to your presentence report.

Probation Officers conducting the presentence investigation and preparing the presentence report play an integral role in the federal sentencing process.

Although practices differ among the various districts, an officer may, at the conclusion of a presentence investigation, work with his/her supervisor to formulate an appropriate sentencing recommendation that will be provided to the court. The officer must be prepared to discuss the case with the sentencing judge, to answer questions about the report that may arise during the sentencing hearing, and on rare occasions to testify in court as to the basis for the factual findings and guideline applications set forth in the presentence report.

After sentencing, these presentence reports are utilized by the Bureau of Prisons to designate the institutions appropriate for persons under supervision to serve their sentences, to select prison programs to help these individuals, and to develop case plans for their custody and eventual release. A presentence report is also forwarded to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which uses the report to monitor the application of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and to gather statistics about sentencing trends.