White Collar & Government Investigations Blog

Olshan Litigation and White Collar & Government Investigations partner Derrelle Janey published an article in Attorney at Law Magazine entitled “Supervised Release: A Broken System, Economically Inefficient and Prone to Abuse.” In the article, Derrelle examines why federal courts should more carefully assess whether supervised release advances its intended rehabilitative purpose, particularly in nonviolent white collar cases. “Supervised release is not meant to last indefinitely,” Derrelle writes. “Once a defendant has completed a prison sentence, if supervised release is imposed, it is meant to occur for a specific period of time.” Drawing on U.S. Sentencing Commission data, Derrelle notes that supervised release was imposed in 82% of federal prison sentences in fiscal year 2025, while only approximately 22% of those terms were required by statute. He also uses the recent United States v. Robert Sabet matter to illustrate how delayed revocation can extend court involvement long after a defendant has served a sentence for the underlying offense. “Such use of the supervised release mechanism turns federal courtrooms into general hospitals ill-equipped to cure general societal problems,” Derrelle writes.