NCJ Number
92763
Date Published
1983
Length
71 pages
Annotation
These hearings examine a serious controversy generated by the Attorney General's recommendation to the President that a current member of the U.S. Parole Commission, Oliver Keller, be removed to make room for a commissioner of the administration's choosing and Mr. Keller's subsequent lawsuit to halt his removal.
Abstract
The subcommittee chairman opened the hearings by stating that the removal of a U.S. Parole Commissioner for mere partisan purposes is not consistent with the letter or intent of the Parole Commission and Reorganization Act. A statement from the chairman of the Parole Commission emphasized his concerns for possible politicalization of the Commission as evidenced by the Keller controversy and pressures on him to accept an unneeded Senior Executive Service employee as administrator. Mr. Keller then testified, describing his background and the negative effects of politicizing the Parole Commission. Mr. Keller's lawyer discussed the legal aspects of the President's belief that he can remove at will a Parole Commissioner, with attention to the intent of Congress in enacting the 1976 Parole Act to create an independent agency and the President's authority under the Constitution to terminate at will an officer of that agency. On the second day of hearings, the chairman announced that the chairman of the Parole Commission had resigned. An Assistant Attorney General for DOJ presented the administration's position on the controversy, emphasizing that Parole Commissioners exercise an essentially executive branch function and therefore are subject to presidential control. He refused to discuss legal issues involved in the impending litigation. Witnesses' prepared statements are included.