28 CFR - Judicial Administration

In this document, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) finalizes regulations that establish and describe Communications Management Units (CMUs) by regulation. The CMUs regulations serve to detail the specific restrictions that may be imposed in the CMUs in a way that current regulations authorize but do not detail. CMUs are designed to provide an inmate housing unit environment that enables staff monitoring of all communications between inmates in a Communications Management Unit (CMU) and persons in the community. The ability to monitor such communication is necessary to ensure the safety, security, and orderly operation of correctional facilities, and protection of the public. These regulations represent a “floor” beneath which communications cannot be further restricted. The Bureau currently operates CMUs in two of its facilities. This rule clarifies existing Bureau practices with respect to CMUs.

This rule amends the policy of the Department of Justice regarding the use of subpoenas, certain court orders, and search warrants, to obtain information from, or records of, members of the news media. The rule also amends the Department's policy regarding questioning, arresting, or charging members of the news media.

The United States Department of Justice (“the Department”) is publishing this final rule to amend the regulations implementing the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”) pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (“Brady Act”). This final rule authorizes tribal criminal justice agencies to access the NICS Index for purposes of issuing firearm-related permits and licenses, authorizes criminal justice agencies to access the NICS Index for purposes of disposing of firearms in their possession, and updates the storage location of NICS Audit Log records relating to denied transactions.

The Department of Justice, through its component, EOUST, is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking (Rule) pursuant to Section 602 of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). The BAPCPA requires the Department to issue rules requiring uniform periodic reports (Periodic Reports) by debtors in possession or trustees in cases under chapter 11 of title 11. The BAPCPA requires the Rule to strike the best achievable practical balance between the reasonable needs of the public for information about the operational results of the Federal bankruptcy system, undue burden, and appropriate privacy concerns and safeguards.

This rule revises certain regulations of the Department of Justice (the “Department”) that govern the Pardon Attorney. The rule conforms the regulations to current practice, under which the Pardon Attorney is subject to the direction of, and submits recommendations in clemency cases through, the Deputy Attorney General.

On August 1, 2014, the Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register in order to propose amendments to its Americans with Disabilities Act title III regulation to require the provision of closed movie captioning and audio description to give persons with hearing and vision disabilities access to movies. The comment period is scheduled to close on September 30, 2014. The Department of Justice is extending the comment period until December 1, 2014 in order to provide additional time for the public to prepare comments.

The United States Parole Commission is revising its rules describing the conditions of release set for persons on supervision and the procedures used to impose and modify the conditions. The revision is part of our ongoing effort to make our rules easier to understand for those persons affected by the rules and other interested persons and organizations. We are also adding new procedures for imposing special conditions for sex offenders, and filling a gap left by an earlier rule change in 2003 regarding the administrative appeals that may be filed by District of Columbia offenders on supervised release.

The United States Parole Commission proposes to revise its rules pertaining to decisions to revoke terms of supervision without a hearing. Specifically, we propose a rule that would allow a releasee charged with only administrative violations or specifically identified misdemeanor crimes to apply for a prison sanction of 8 months or less. If a releasee qualifies and applies for a sanction under this section, the Commission may approve a revocation decision that includes no more than 8 months of imprisonment without using its normal guidelines for decision-making.