Young v. Harper, 520 U.S. 143, 9 (1997)

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Cite as: 520 U. S. 143 (1997)

Opinion of the Court

56a.2 The Court of Criminal Appeals also relied on this provision, but because it was not in effect when respondent was released, it has little relevance to this case.

Nor have we been presented with any other evidence to substantiate this asserted limitation on respondent's release. The closest petitioners come is to direct us to the orientation form reviewed with respondent upon his release. Item 9 of that orientation form says: "Reviewed options available in the event of parole denial." App. 5. Mindful of Procedure No. 004-011, as amended after respondent was reincarcerated, it is possible to read this item as indicating that respondent was told his participation in the Program could be terminated if parole were denied. But the mere possibility of respondent's having been so informed is insufficient to overcome his showing of the facially complete, written "Rules and Conditions of Pre-Parole Conditional Supervision," App. 7-9, which said nothing about the effect of a parole denial.

Counsel for the State also claims that at the time respondent was participating in the Program, preparolees were always reincarcerated if the Governor denied them parole. Tr. of Oral Arg. 8. In the absence of evidence to this effect—and the State points to none—this assertion is insufficient to rebut the seemingly complete rules and conditions of respondent's release. On the record before us, therefore, the premise of petitioners' argument—that respondent's continued participation was conditioned on extrinsic events—is illusory, and the analogy to furlough inapposite.3

2 The version of Procedure No. 004-011 in effect when respondent was placed on the Program was silent as to a parole denial's effect. See App. to Pet. for Cert. 43a-52a. The procedure was amended again in 1994, and now provides that "[i]nmates denied parole by the Governor while on [preparole] will remain on the program, unless returned to higher security by due process." App. to Brief for Respondent 38a.

3 Equally illusory is the argument, which petitioners made for the first time in this Court, that the Board had authority to reimprison a preparolee for any reason or for no reason. The written rules and conditions

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