Laurel Lee wants judges granted more discretion on setting probation supervision terms

Empowering judges with more discretion in probation terms will free up the justice system to focus on true repeat offenders. That’s the hope of federal legislation championed by U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee.

The former Florida Circuit Court Judge introduced the Safer Supervision Act (HR 5883), a bipartisan bill that seeks to refocus the federal supervised release program.

“I have seen our criminal justice system from all sides and recognize its strengths and its areas for improvement,” the Thonotosassa Republican said. “I have long been interested in issues around good, data-driven policy and also successful reentry. We are well served, and our communities are safer, when we consider how we can help individuals who are returning home from incarceration succeed, and this bill is designed to do exactly that.”

Lee filed the bipartisan bill with Democratic U.S. Reps. Deborah Ross of North Carolina and Lucy McBath of Georgia, as well as Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina, are hoping to advance the legislation through the House Judiciary Committee, on which she serves. A Senate companion bill has been filed by U.S. Sens. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, and Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat.

“I know I always love having an opportunity to work on something that is bicameral and bipartisan, and this is just such a bill,” Lee said. “It is something that people in our community support. It’s a good bill for Florida and a good bill for America.”

If passed, the legislation would reinstate individualized decision-making for judges, allowing them to set probation terms based on the risk of recidivism for each individual prosecuted for a crime. She stressed that the intent isn’t to lighten sentences but to deploy public safety resources more effectively and efficiently.

“We cannot just release dangerous criminals, violent recidivists. That’s not what we do here at all. It’s quite the opposite,” Lee said.

“It focuses those criminal justice resources so that those people who are a threat are getting that attention and are getting that supervision, but those who have actually put their lives back together and are ready to be supported aren’t going to be stopped by unnecessary barriers and administrative tasks.”

The bill has backing from the REFORM Alliance, which has promoted conservative messaging around the legislation. That group commissioned a poll that found broad support among nearly 79% of Americans for the bill’s policies.

That poll also showed a large number of Americans who have seen the effects of harsh sentencing guidelines firsthand or in their families. That’s no shock to Lee, who, before serving in Congress and as Florida’s Secretary of State, worked in criminal law as a public defender, prosecutor and judge.

“So many people have seen the impacts of the barriers to rebuilding a life after an involvement with the criminal justice system,” she said. “To me, I was not surprised. I have seen the families that are affected. But I do think that it would be surprising to many people to see just how common it is.”

She also sees this reform as different from other changes proposed in past years that ultimately became unpopular, such as replacing cash bail. Lee is confident that any changes to the bill will yield measurable benefits within the justice system.

“The cash bail policies that we’ve seen implemented in various parts of the country were reckless from the start. And tragic outcomes when judges are not permitted to actually assess potential danger to the community and are instead forced to release back out on bail people who are violent criminals with a long history of coming in and out of the criminal justice system, these results were predictable,” Lee said.

“What we are talking about in the Safer Supervision Act is nothing like those policies. It’s the opposite. This is something that is built on data that is carefully targeted to ensure that we’re giving those opportunities to people who do not pose a threat to their communities. Of course, if this is signed into law, we will continue to track its implementation to ensure that it’s operating the way it was intended.”