BOP

Today, the United States Supreme Court denied Ghislaine Maxwell’s petition for certiorari. Maxwell v. United States, No. 24-1073 (U.S. Oct. 6, 2025) (cert. denied). Maxwell presented this question for review: under Santobello v. New York and common principles of contract interpretation, does a promise on behalf of the ‘United States’ or the ‘Government’ that is made by a United States Attorney in one district bind federal prosecutors in other districts?

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has issued a press release about an internal memorandum to all wardens in the BOP stating, “To be clear, FSA [First Step Act] and SCA [Second Chance Act] authorities are cumulative and shall be applied in sequence to maximize prerelease custody, including home confinement (HC). Residential Reentry Center (RRC) bed availability/capacity shall not be a barrier to HC when an individual is statutorily eligible and appropriate for such placement.”

The United States Sentencing Commission released Quick Facts for Individuals in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. As of March 2025, there were 154,155 individuals incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Of these individuals, 134,766 are serving a sentence for a federal conviction.

Here are some highlights:

People in prisons may bring claims alleging they were denied access to legal materials while they were pursuing civil rights cases from behind bars, the Third Circuit said Wednesday in a precedential opinion setting forth that right to access the courts (access full article).

The United States Sentencing Commission published a new report today titled Recidivism and Federal Bureau of Prisons Programs Vocational Program Participants Released In 2010 (June 14, 2022). The report at a glance is available.

On Thursday, three members of Congress called for an immediate federal investigation into violence and abuse at the U.S. penitentiary in Thomson, Ill., prompted by reporting by The Marshall Project and NPR.

A nationwide lockdown of federal prisons that went into effect early last week due to violence at a Texas facility is coming to an end (view full article).

The agency imposed a nationwide lockdown amid fears that violence could break out at other facilities due to retaliation over those killed in the fight reportedly involving gang members.

Last week, the Department of Justice announced it would begin transferring thousands of people out of federal prisons as part of the First Step Act.

FAMM has published First Step Act Earned Time Credits Rule Explainer. Key information include:

Who is eligible to apply FSA Time Credits toward pre-release custody or supervised release?

The Justice Department will begin transferring thousands of people out of federal prisons this week as part of a sweeping criminal justice overhaul signed more than three years ago (access full article).

The Eighth Circuit on Monday said the government can't collect inmates' prison wages to satisfy victim restitution orders, agreeing with two other appeals court opinions and vacating a lower court order to seize $5,500 from an Arkansas prisoner's trust account (access full article).