RICHARD J. LEON, District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on Christopher Jones' Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus [ECF No. 1], the U.S. Parole Commission's Opposition to Petitioner's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus [ECF No. 8] and the U.S. Parole Commission's Supplemental Opposition to Petitioner's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus [ECF No. 14]. For the reasons discussed below, the petition will be denied.
On April 5, 2002, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, petitioner was sentenced to four-year term of imprisonment followed by a three-year term of supervised release on his conviction for a Bail Reform Act offense. See U.S. Parole Commission's Opposition to Petitioner's
The U.S. Parole Commission ("USPC") since has revoked supervised release on three occasions. See id., Ex. K, P (respectively, Notices of Action dated April 11, 2006 and January 6, 2010); U.S. Parole Commission's Supplemental Opposition to Petitioner's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus ("Supplemental Opp'n"), Ex. B (Notice of Action dated May 23, 2013). Only the second and third revocations are relevant to this discussion.
Petitioner was arrested in the District of Columbia on August 1, 2008, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine (crack). See Resp't's Opp'n, Ex. M (Warrant Application dated November 3, 2008) at 1. This law violation (Charge No. 1) was the basis for the issuance of a warrant, id., Ex. M (Warrant), which was executed on November 12, 2008, id., Ex. N (United States Marshal's Return to United States Parole Commission). In the Superior Court, petitioner was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute cocaine (Count 2) and possession of drug paraphernalia (Count 3), and he was sentenced to a 30-month term of imprisonment followed by a five-year term of supervised release on Count 2, to be served consecutively to a 30-day term of imprisonment (with credit for time served) on Count 3. Id., Ex. O (Judgment in a Criminal Case, United States v. Jones, No. 2008-CF2-17814 (D.C.Super.Ct. Aug. 21, 2009)). After a hearing on November 9, 2009, the USPC revoked supervised release and directed petitioner to serve an additional term in custody. Id., Ex. P (Notice of Action dated January 6, 2010) at 1. He began to serve his term of supervised release on October 6, 2011. Id., Ex. R (Certificate of Supervised Release).
The third revocation came about after petitioner was sentenced on April 13, 2012, in the Circuit Court of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, to a three-year term of imprisonment followed by a three-year term of supervised release. See id., Ex. T (Warrant Application dated April 26, 2012) at 2.
Petitioner was eligible for an expedited revocation procedure pursuant to which he would accept responsibility for the violation behavior, waive his right to a revocation hearing, and serve an additional term in custody. See generally id., Ex. W (Letter to Angela Haynes from the USPC
Id., Ex. B (Notice of Action dated May 23, 2013) at 1.
Petitioner alleges that, when he filed his petition on February 1, 2013, he had been held for "over one hundred twenty days" without having had a revocation hearing. Pet. at 4. Because USPC failed to conduct a timely hearing, he contends that his Fifth Amendment right to due process has been violated. See id. at 3-4. Ordinarily, a releasee's "institutional revocation hearing shall be held within 90 days of the retaking of the releasee on a supervised release violation warrant." 28 C.F.R. § 2.215(f). Under ordinary circumstances, petitioner's revocation hearing should have been held by December 20, 2012. "Here, the [USPC] acknowledges that due to an administrative oversight, the petitioner did not receive a timely revocation hearing." Resp't's Opp'n at 4.
An untimely revocation hearing "is not itself a valid ground for immediate release[;]" instead, a releasee's "remedy... is an action to compel a hearing." Hill v. Johnston, 750 F.Supp.2d 103, 105-06 (D.D.C.2010); see Sutherland v. McCall, 709 F.2d 730, 732 (D.C.Cir.1983) (finding that the appropriate remedy for a delayed parole revocation hearing "is a writ of mandamus to compel the [USPC's] compliance ... not a writ of habeas corpus to compel release ... or to extinguish the remainder of the sentence" (emphasis in original)). Habeas relief would be available "only ... where a petitioner establishes that the [USPC's] delay in holding a revocation hearing was both unreasonable and prejudicial." Sutherland, 709 F.2d at 732. Here, the petitioner neither alleges nor demonstrates that the delay "prejudiced his defense at the revocation hearing." Id. at 733. "[T]he due process clause is violated only by a delay that is
Notwithstanding the USPC's acknowledgment of its failure to conduct a timely supervision revocation hearing, petitioner cannot establish that "[h]e is in custody in violation of the Constitution or law or treaties of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). Accordingly, the habeas petition will be denied, and this action will be dismissed. An Order is issued separately.