The federal presentence investigation report (PSR) is crucial for two purposes: First, it is the document most heavily relied on by the judge in imposing sentence—particularly in those cases where a guilty plea has been entered and the court knows little about the defendant. Had the defendant gone to trial, the court would have more information about the individual—or at least his or her offense conduct. Second, and equally important, it is the document that the Federal Bureau of Prisons relies on in making designations and placements and many other decisions throughout an inmate’s period of incarceration, including, but not limited to, whether to grant early release through halfway house and, if so, for how much time.
By Alan Ellis