United States Department of Justice et al. v. Julian et al. (486 U.S. 1)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 16, 1988 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 486 U.S. 1 · 108 S. Ct. 1606
- Decided
- May 16, 1988
- Term
- October Term 1987
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. Respondents in this case are prison inmates who sued under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U. S. C. § 552, for disclosure of their presentence investigation reports. These reports are prepared by a probation officer for use by the district court at sentencing; they contain background information about a defendant and the circumstances of his offense. After sentencing, the reports are typically transmitted to the Bureau of Prisons and then to the Parole Commission for eventual use in determining whether a prisoner should be released on parole. The courts below ordered petitioners — the Department of Justice and the Parole Commission — to disclose the reports. The question we are now called on to decide is whether the FOIA requires that these presentence investigation reports be disclosed by petitioners or whether the reports fall under one of the FOIA’s statutory exemptions. Rule 32(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure outlines the requirements for preparation and disclosure of a presentence report for a criminal defendant who has been adjudged guilty. Rule 32(c)(1) provides that before imposition of sentence the probation service of the district court shall make an investigation into the defendant’s background and the circumstances of the offense. The results of the investigation are compiled into a…
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