Family Visitation Rules BOP.

Family visitation is a regulated privilege, not an automatic entitlement. The specific terms and conditions of federal prison visitation will depend on a complex combination of national Bureau of Prisons rules, decisions made by the administration at the prisoner’s institution, and various other factors.

Rules and Regulations for BOP Visitation

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) publishes general rules and regulations that apply to visitation at all federal prisons. Along with issuing the BOP’s general rules, institutions also have some leeway to implement facility-specific schedules and additional restrictions that apply during in-person visits.

The BOP Program Statement

The BOP’s program statement regarding visitation includes a list of the types of visits that are generally available. While these types of visits are typically allowed, not all federal institutions will provide every type of visitation listed in the BOP’s program statement. This means that an institution may restrict its visiting options, and that institution’s decisions will affect the degree to which family contact is permissible. The BOP’s visitation regulations address in-person visiting; other forms of contact are governed by separate BOP policies and institution-specific practices:

• General visits;
• In-person social visits and approved special visits;
• Telephone visits;
• E-visits; and,
• Messaging services.

The Second Chance Act and Prerelease Custody

The Second Chance Act is a piece of federal legislation that amended 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c) with respect to prerelease custody. Under this statute, the BOP may place a federal prisoner into home confinement and/or a residential reentry center during the final months of the term, not exceeding 12 months; home confinement is limited to the shorter of 10 percent of the term or 6 months The First Step Act (a criminal justice reform measure passed in 2018) also amended 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c) and required the BOP, to the extent practicable, to place lower-risk prisoners on home confinement for the maximum time permitted under section 3624(c)(2).

Which BOP Decisions Determine Who May Visit and When?

Decisions regarding visitors, visiting hours, and visiting restrictions are made by staff at your prisoner’s designated institution. In some circumstances, decisions that affect visitation may be made at the national level by the BOP’s central office, and some decisions may be influenced by a prisoner’s prior record (if applicable). If your prisoner’s institution or the BOP denies an opportunity for family visitation, or otherwise places restrictions on family visitation, you should find out whether this decision is the result of a specific BOP decision or a more general rule or regulation. If you believe that a specific decision regarding family visitation is unnecessary, unreasonable, or otherwise wrong, it may be possible to seek a different outcome through the BOP’s Administrative Remedy Program.

The Administrative Remedy Program covers issues concerning any aspect of an inmate’s confinement. Inmates may submit matters to the Administrative Remedy Program on their own, or they may seek the assistance of an attorney to do so. Because matters submitted under the Administrative Remedy Program will affect the inmate’s rights under federal law, it is strongly recommended that federal inmates work with an attorney when filing administrative-remedy claims.

The typical administrative remedy sequence involves the use of several forms, starting with a BP-8 form. Initially, inmates submit their administrative-remedy matters via a BP-8 form; if this does not result in a successful outcome, the inmate files a BP-9 formal complaint. A BP-9 formal complaint is submitted to the institution’s warden; an appeal to the Regional Director is filed on a BP-10 form, and a further appeal to the Central Office is filed on a BP-11 form.

If the BP-9 formal complaint still fails to resolve the matter, the inmate then files a BP-10 appeal to the BOP’s regional director. If the regional director does not grant relief, the inmate files a BP-11 appeal to the BOP’s General Counsel.

Following the BP-11 appeal, the administrative remedy process is complete. At this point, an inmate who has been unsuccessful in his or her efforts to resolve a visitation-related issue administratively may seek the assistance of an attorney to intervene on his or her behalf. If necessary, the attorney will seek a federal court order to compel relief for the inmate, as federal judges are reluctant to intervene in prisons matters, and A federal inmate generally must exhaust available administrative remedies before bringing a qualifying action concerning prison conditions under the PLRA; exhaustion is not a prerequisite to every federal-court proceeding or appeal.

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When Can a Family Member Challenge a Visitation Restriction?

In most circumstances, a family member cannot challenge a federal prisoner’s visitation restriction by filing a lawsuit in federal court. This restriction is due to the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) which generally requires that an “exhaustion” of the administrative remedy process must be completed before a qualifying inmate lawsuit can proceed. However, if a family member is denied the right to visit due to the prisoner’s alleged participation in a federal prison disciplinary violation, the prison’s decision can be more easily challenged.

Federal Prison Disciplinary Proceedings

Federal prison disciplinary proceedings classify the alleged violations according to four severity levels: low, moderate, high, and greatest. Each violation is linked to a maximum potential penalty. When an inmate is accused of committing a disciplinary violation, he or she will receive an invitation to present evidence to the disciplinary board. He or she may also be entitled to the assistance of a staff representative. If an inmate is found guilty of a disciplinary violation, he or she may face several different penalties. These penalties can include:

• Forfeiture of good-time credit
• Reprimand
• Restriction to confinement or limited-range movement
• Revocation of institutional privileges
• Loss of visitation privileges

Disciplinary Appeals and Federal Prison Visitation

If a federal inmate is found guilty of a disciplinary violation, he or she has the right to appeal the decision. Federal inmates can also present evidence in support of their administrative-remedy claims, or in support of federal lawsuits filed under the PLRA if applicable. If an inmate is trying to seek family visitation rights through an administrative-remedy claim or a federal lawsuit, there are several grounds that can provide sufficient justification to prove that the prisoner’s visitation restrictions are unreasonable. Among these grounds, the inmate’s ability to prove that a previous alleged disciplinary violation has been unjustifiably pending is a particularly effective one.

Does the Second Chance Act Give Families a Right to Home Confinement?

The Second Chance Act does not give families a right to home confinement, nor does it give inmates a right to home confinement. Instead, the Second Chance Act gives the BOP the authority to allow eligible inmates to have home confinement when appropriate. To learn more about the First Step Act of 2018 and its relation to compassionate release, read this section.

Understanding the First Step Act of 2018

The First Step Act is a comprehensive criminal justice reform law. One of the aspects of the First Step Act is its relation to compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) (the statute that governs the availability of “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction” petitions in federal court). The First Step Act expanded who may move for compassionate release. It also clarified the BOP’s policies and procedures for processing such motions filed by the Department of Justice. The other aspect of the First Step Act that relates to family contact is its relation to prerelease custody under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c), and the Second Chance Act.

Understanding Section 3624(c)

Section 3624(c) of the U.S. Criminal Code authorizes the BOP to place federal prisoners into prerelease custody during the final months of their terms of imprisonment, not exceeding 12 months Specifically, the statute authorizes federal prisons to place “qualifying inmates” into residential reentry centers or on home confinement. Residential reentry centers are commonly known as “halfway houses,” and the authority to use halfway houses was expanded under the Second Chance Act of 2007.

Qualifying Inmate Prerequisites

To be eligible for home confinement or residential reentry center placement, federal inmates must meet several prerequisites. These prerequisites include:

• Eligibility for earned-time credits under 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4), if the prisoner is seeking prerelease custody through that separate time-credit mechanism;
• Eligibility for home confinement or a residential reentry center based on the level of the inmate’s offense; and,
• Eligibility for home confinement or a residential reentry center based on the length of the inmate’s sentence.

Calling About Someone You Love

Most first calls to a defense firm come from a family member rather than the person under investigation. If that is you, Spodek Law Group answers its phone at any hour, and families retain the firm on a relative's behalf every week. Reach it at 888 348 8028.