Statutory Provisions

• Authority of the Director of the Administrative Office.
• The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts is authorized to issue regulations governing release of information made confidential by section 3153 (c)(1) of title 18, United States Code, enacted by the Pretrial Services Act of 1982 (Pub. L. No. 97-267, section 3, 96 Stat. 1136 (Sept. 27, 1982) (18 U.S.C. § 3153 (c)(2)). That section further provides that the regulations are to provide exceptions to the confidentiality of such information to allow access.
• by qualified persons for purposes of research related to the administration of criminal justice;
• by persons under contract under section 3154 (4) of this title;
• by United States Probation Officers for the purpose of compiling presentence reports;
• insofar as such information is a pretrial diversion report, to the attorney for the accused and the attorney for the Government; and
• in certain limited cases to law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.
• Accordingly, as the regulations are mandated by Congress, they are entitled to the full force and effect of law.
• Confidentiality of Pretrial Services Information. Section 3153 (c)(1) of title 18, United States Code, provides as follows: "Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, information obtained in the course of performing pretrial services functions in relation to a particular accused shall be used only for the purposes of bail determination and shall otherwise be confidential. Each pretrial services report shall be made available to the attorney for the accused and the attorney for the Government."
• Objective of Confidentiality of Pretrial Services Information. Confidentiality of pretrial services information is preserved primarily to promote a candid and truthful relationship between the defendant and the pretrial services officer in order to obtain the most complete and accurate information possible for the judicial officer. H. Conf. Rep. 97-792, 97th Cong., 2d Sess. 8. Disclosure of pretrial services information for purposes other than for the determination of pretrial release, particularly for prosecution purposes, would deter defendants from cooperation with pretrial services officers and deprive the court of necessary information.