This hearing is held for individuals who have committed a criminal act while on parole or while delinquent on parole.
For a parolee to be recommitted as a CPV:
- The crime must be committed during the period of parole or while delinquent on parole; and
- The crime must be punishable by imprisonment; and,
- Parolee must be convicted or found guilty by a judge or jury,
- or plead guilty or nolo contendere in a court of record or of any misdemeanor of the third degree and certain summary offenses1.
1 Summary offenses: Possession of a Firearm in a Court Facility; Harassment; Retail Theft; Disorderly Conduct; Public Drunkenness; Cruelty to Animals; Aiding or Abetting a Minor to Commit Truancy; Selling or Furnishing Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Minors
This hearing is held after an inmate is convicted of the new criminal offense. Generally, hearings are held within 120 days from the date the Parole Agent receives official verification of the new conviction OR within 120 days of the date the official verification of the parolees return to a Pennsylvania state correctional institution.
The hearings can be presided over by a Hearing Examiner alone or a panel consisting of a Hearing Examiner and a Parole Board Member.
Preponderance of the evidence
At each type of hearing, individuals are given their rights verbally and in writing. Individuals have the right to:
- Disclosure of evidence in support of the violations charged against them.
- Speak, have voluntary witnesses appear on their behalf and present affidavits and other evidence.
- Cross-examine adverse witnesses.
- Be represented by counsel. If a person cannot afford counsel, they may request counsel from the public defender of the county in which they are incarcerated. There is no penalty for requesting counsel.
- Request a continuance of the hearing for a good cause.
One of following decisions will be reached:
- continue on parole, or
- recommit
A CPV will establish a review month. The Parole Board will review the inmate in the month listed, but it does not create any right to be released on that date.
Either the parolee or the parolee's attorney may appeal a revocation/recalculation decision – no family members, loved ones or friends may do so. The person filing has 30 days from the mailing date of the Parole Board’s order to appeal this decision to the Parole Board. When a timely appeal of a revocation decision has been filed, the revocation decision will not be final for an appeal to a court until the Parole Board has mailed its decision on the appeal.