If one of the following is true for your loved one, then you should seek an attorney’s help right away:

A. Underlying Medical Condition:  High blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, obesity, heart condition, kidney or liver condition, blood clots, or other condition.

B.  Elderly:  50 or older

C.  Served 50% of sentence

D.  Anyone in that prison has COVID-19, especially if the prison is denying it.

Please see my blog on this topic for more information, but the situation changes daily, so the best thing to do, if your loved one has these conditions, is to call.  My number is (512) 693-9529.

  1. COVID-19 – Coronavirus – SARS-CoV-2
  2. Compassionate Release
  3. Sentence Credit Computation Discrepancies
  4. State/Federal Sentence Credits
  5. Security Level Designation (Points)
  6. Pending Charges or Detainers
  7. Inadequate Medical Care
  8. Prison Medical Malpractice
  9. Prison Injury Claims
  10. RDAP (Residential Drug Abuse Program)
  11. BOP (Bureau of Prisons) Staff Misconduct
  12. Administrative Remedies Program
  13. SIS Investigations
    (Special Investigative Services monitor prison administration.)
  14. BOP Staff Assault
  15. FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Requests
  16. Transfers
  17. Special Housing Unit (SHU) and Administrative Segregation

As a general rule, it is best to have an attorney advise the inmate on such issues. Those who advertise themselves as “Prison Consultants” often claim that they can do things that they simply cannot deliver. For example, no one case can guarantee a transfer, a change in a security level designation, or designation to a particular facility. Likewise, it is very unlikely that a prison consultant can get something removed from the Presentence Investigation Report (PSI or PSR) after someone is already serving their prison sentence. “Prison Consultants” will often say they will guarantee their services. But what that usually means is if they aren’t able to get you what they promised, they will file an administrative remedy for the inmate. The result is almost always either no result, or a negative result that, besides the loss of thousands of dollars, actually hurts the inmate. There are very few legitimate prison consultants, but the ones who are legitimate usually offer their services to attorneys, rather than trying to sell their services directly to inmates or their families. If you need a legitimate prison consultant, you want one who is a former BOP official, and not a former BOP inmate, with very few exceptions. I can make referrals to legitimate consultants.

An experienced attorney can advise federal inmates or their families as to what is the best method for accomplishing a particular goal AND advising whether having an attorney involved directly with the BOP in any given matter is the best option. Sometimes it is best that the inmate himself, with the advice of an attorney, deal with the appropriate people at the BOP.

Before spending thousands of dollars with a questionable “Prison Consultant,” do your research, and let an attorney who handles federal inmate issues consider your issue. Please call me at (512) 693-9LAW or email me with questions or for more information. To email me, just click on the “Contact Us” link here or at the top of the page, and I would be glad to talk to you.

by Chad Van Cleave