Supervised Release Begins After Departure From Prison, Court Says - Two Settlements Obscure Outcome Of Disability Issue - Inmate Must Prove Serious Injury To Use 8th Amendment

Oct 13, 2026

March 3, 2000 issue text covers U.S. Supreme Court rulings and correction-focused news. It explains that supervised release starts after an inmate leaves the correctional facility even if the term was overserved, limiting efforts to shorten supervision. It also reports settlements in Arkansas and Florida involving police and corrections officers under the ADA, while the question is deferred to future litigation. Another section addresses Eighth Amendment medical-care standards, requiring serious injuries to justify emergency care.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages12

Reading Time30 min

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Supervised Release Begins After Departure From Prison, Court Says

Two Settlements Obscure Outcome Of Disability Issue

Inmate Must Prove Serious Injury To Use 8th Amendment

Fla. Officials Say Scared Straight' Concept Has Impact

March 3,2000 Vol.31,No.8 IN THIS ISSUE Two Settlements DelayADA Decision……… ……2Inmate Must Prove Injury....2 NATIONAL Scared Straight ConceptHas Impact On Yout.………2Rape Victim Groups PressFor HIV Status Of Inmates..3DOJ Program FundsState Parolee Projects ……4 ACROSS THE STATES Ark.,Calif………………………5Conn.,Fla.,La.………………6Mass.,N.Y…………………7Texas………………………….8 DEATH ROW Ala.,Tex…………………………8Fla.Governor Asks JuristTo Name Innocent.……………8 FUNDING States Eligible For $3M……9Grants For Outpatient CareOf Substance Abusers…………9$16 Million For 30-40Substance Abuse Programs..9Funds For Transition OfSubstance Abusers…………10 CorrectionSDIGEST The only independent news service for the corrections professional # Supervised Release Begins AfterDeparture From Prison,Court Says The Supreme Court ruledunanimously that supervised release begins after an inmate leaves thecorrections facility even if the in-mate overserved the term. "To say (someone)was releasedwhile still imprisoned diminishesthe concept the word intends toconvey,"said Associate JusticeAnthony M.Kennedy who wrotethe opinion in United States v.Johnson,No.98-1696. The decision reversed a 1998judgment in the 6th U.S.CircuitCourt of Appeals. The plaintiff filed suit ongrounds that a retroactive change infederal law made him for a reduc- tion in supervised release. “The statute,by its own opera- tion,does not reduce the length of asupervised release term by reason ofexcess time served in prison,"saidKennedy. Consequently,Kennedy said,the time ex-convicts must spend onsupervised release does not have tobe reduced even when they werekept in prison too long. The decision made it more dif-ficult for convicted criminals to cutshort their terms of supervised re-lease after they leave prison. Roy Lee Johnson was convictedin 1990 on multiple counts of pos-sessing and intending to distributecocaine and use of a firearm duringa drug-trafficking offense. In 1995,the Supreme Courtnarrowed the scope of the federallaw that stiffens the prison sentenceof anyone who "uses or carries"agun while engaging in drug traf-ficking.The court said then thatprosecutors must show “active em-ployment"of a gun,not mere pos-session. A federal judge subsequentlywiped out Johnson's gun-relatedconvictions and,because he already had served more than 51 months inprison,ordered him released.Butthe judge rejected Johnson's attemptto have the duration of his super-vised release reduced by the extratime he spent in prison due to thegun convictions A federal appeals panel,how-ever,ruled that Johnson's time onsupervised release had to be re-duced because it began “on the datehe was entitled to be released ratherthan the day he walked out theprison door.” Federal appeals courts aroundthe nation had split on that issue. The Supreme Court said the 6thCircuit was wrong in Johnson'scase. Kennedy noted that trial judgeshave the authority to modify some-one's supervised-release obligationsbut are not required to do so incases like Johnson's. ## TWO SETTLEMENTSOBSCURE OUTCOMEOF DISABILITY ISSUE The states of Arkansas andFlorida settled with police and cor-rections officers to avoid being thefirst to argue that disability mayblock a promotion or a pay increase. The Supreme Court dismissedboth cases because the issues hadbecome moot. The question of whether policeand corrections officers may use theAmericans with Disabilities Act tosue state governments for violationsmust now await another case. The justices dismissed Alsbrookv.Arkansas,No.99-423,that theyhad agreed in January to review.They cited a rule most often in-voked when an out-of-court settle-ment has been reached. The court dropped a similarcase,Florida v.Dickson,No.98-829,a few days earlier after it wasalso settled out of court. Both cases had been closelywatched because the court's view ofthe ADA and states'11th Amend-ment immunity from being sued infederal courts could have deter-mined whether corrections officers

FAQs

When does supervised release begin under the Supreme Court ruling described here?

Supervised release begins after the inmate leaves the corrections facility, even if the inmate overserved the sentence while imprisoned.

Why did the Supreme Court dismiss the Arkansas and Florida ADA-related cases mentioned in this issue?

The Supreme Court dismissed both cases because the issues had become moot after out-of-court settlements.

What must an inmate show to rely on the Eighth Amendment for medical care?

The inmate must show injuries are serious enough to warrant emergency medical care, not merely a denial of medical services.

Oct 13, 2026

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