Department of Corrections (DOC) Detention Hearings

Minnesota DOC Detention Hearings

Minnesota offers those incarcerated in prison an opportunity to serve part of their sentence on parole or “supervised release.” While this can be a great opportunity for many, it also presents a wide variety of challenges for former inmates. Often a parolee may encounter challenges with their parole officer who they have to correspond with while on supervised release. Many parole officers are strict and often require parolees to adhere to what may seem like unreasonable expectations.

If a parole officer believes that a parolee has violated the conditions (or rules) that they are required to follow, the officer may attempt to have the parolee revoked. However, the defendant is entitled to a revocation hearing where they may have an attorney present to advocate for them and protect their rights.

A defendant may also have to undergo a detention hearing, which occurs if the defendant is charged with a new crime. If a person is charged with a new crime while on parole, they are usually taken into custody and must go through a detention hearing where a hearing officer from the Hearings and Release Unit (HRU) will determine whether the defendant should be placed on custodial detention or non-custodial detention. A defendant also has a right to an attorney at this hearing, and it is highly advisable for all defendants to obtain an attorney for this proceeding.

The HRU hearing officer can make significant decisions about a defendant at that hearing, including whether to hold them for a long period of time on custodial detention or whether to allow them to return to the community on non-custodial detention. It is important for every defendant to have an attorney experienced on DOC hearings represent them in this proceeding in order to give them the best possible chance to be released back onto parole.

Attorney John E. Roach has advocated for clients over the course of hundreds of DOC hearings, including numerous detention hearings. If you are facing a DOC detention hearing or revocation hearing, call attorney John E. Roach for a free consultation.