United States v. Kenneth Ohler

This case involves a question of first impression regarding the transfer of probation jurisdiction. We conclude that no liberty interest was at stake in the transfer of appellant’s probation jurisdiction from the district where the original crime was committed to the district where the appellant resided and the probation violations were committed. Therefore, no notice or hearing was required before the transfer was made.

I. FACTS

In 1988, Ohler pled guilty in the District of Arizona to theft of an interstate shipment in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 659 , a crime punishable by up to one year of imprisonment. He was sentenced to three years’ probation. Ohler had an Oregon address. The conditions of his Arizona probation included self-surrender in Oregon and confinement in an Oregon community treatment center. His probation was supervised in Oregon, but jurisdiction over his probation remained in the District of Arizona.

In 1991, while still on probation, Ohler was arrested in Oregon for a separate offense. The United States District Court in Arizona ordered transfer of Ohler’s probation jurisdiction to the United States District Court in the District of Oregon, which accepted the…