LOUISE W. FLANAGAN, District Judge.
This matter is before the court on respondent's motion to dismiss, filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (DE 10). Petitioner responded to the motion and thus the issues raised are ripe for decision. For the following reasons, the court grants respondent's motion.
Petitioner, proceeding pro se, petitions this court for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Petitioner is currently incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP"), serving a 41-month term of imprisonment. The petition alleges BOP officials miscalculated his projected release date. According to petitioner, BOP officials have failed to award him prior custody credit for time served before his federal sentence was imposed, and miscalculated the date on which his federal sentence commenced. Petitioner alleges he would be eligible for immediate release if BOP corrected his sentence calculation.
Petitioner was indicted in the Eastern District of North Carolina on October 14, 2014, on charges of communicating false distress messages and aiding and abetting, in violation of 14 U.S.C. § 88(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 2.
Petitioner began service of his federal sentence on November 24, 2016, after completing his state custodial sentence. (Pet. (DE 1) ¶ 13); Offender Pub. Info., Charles R. Dowd,
On March 21, 2018, petitioner submitted a request for administrative remedy to BOP officials, seeking administrative review of his sentencing calculation. (Pet. (DE 1) ¶ 7). Petitioner's informal administrative remedy request was denied that same day, and he then filed a formal administrative grievance with the warden. (Pet'r's First Resp. (DE 13) at 3-4). On April 3, 2018, before receiving the warden's response, petitioner signed and mailed for filing the instant petition.
As noted, the petitioner seeks judicial review of BOP's sentencing calculation, arguing that BOP failed to award him prior custody credit for the time he served in state custody between his arrest on federal charges on May 11, 2015, and his transfer to federal prison for service of his federal sentence on November 24, 2016. Petitioner also argues BOP erred when it determined his federal sentence commenced on November 24, 2016. Respondent filed the instant motion to dismiss on August 23, `, asserting the petition should be dismissed based on petitioner's failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Petitioner has filed multiple responses to the motion to dismiss, and attached BOP records and other documents in support of his claims.
A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) determines only if the complaint contains "sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'"
Although 28 U.S.C. § 2241 does not contain a statutory exhaustion requirement, courts require prisoners challenging the execution of their sentences to exhaust administrative remedies before seeking review in federal court pursuant to § 2241.
BOP provides a four-step administrative remedy procedure. The first step requires an inmate to present his issue to staff in an attempt at informal resolution.
Here, petitioner alleges he filed his first formal administrative grievance concerning his sentence calculation on March 21, 2018. (Pet. (DE 1) ¶ 7). Pursuant to 28 C.F.R. § 542.14, BOP staff then had 20 days to respond to the grievance. Instead of waiting the 20-day period, and then pursuing administrative appeals, petitioner signed and mailed for filing the instant § 2241 petition on April 3, 2018.
Petitioner argues that the documents he submitted in responses to respondent's motion to dismiss establish that he exhausted administrative remedies after he filed the instant petition. Petitioner, however, cannot satisfy the exhaustion requirement by completing administrative remedies after filing the petition.
Based on the foregoing, the petition is dismissed without prejudice. A dismissal without prejudice means petitioner may file another habeas petition alleging these claims after exhausting his administrative remedies. Notably, while petitioner argues he exhausted administrative remedies after filing the instant petition, the documents he has filed to date do not contain administrative decisions at the BP-10 or BP-11 levels.
Finally, the court notes that petitioner's claim that he is entitled to prior custody credit appears to lack merit. BOP may award prior custody credit for time served in official detention prior to the date the federal sentence commences if such time "has not been credited against another sentence." 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b). Public records suggest petitioner was serving a custodial sentence on unrelated state charges from May 11, 2015, the date he was arrested on the subject federal offenses, until November 24, 2016, when he arrived at a federal prison for service of his federal sentence. Offender Pub. Info., Charles R. Dowd,
While petitioner correctly notes that he was transferred to temporary federal custody for his federal arraignment and sentencing during the time he was serving his state sentence, that fact does not change the analysis. Petitioner received credit for time served in temporary pretrial federal custody toward his state sentence, and thus he is not entitled to double count such time toward his federal sentences.
To the extent petitioner is arguing that BOP incorrectly calculated the date his federal sentence commenced, the claim similarly lacks merit. As noted, petitioner appears to have been serving a custodial sentence on state charges at the time he was arrested on federal charges. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3584(a), "if a term of imprisonment is imposed on a defendant who is already subject to an undischarged term of imprisonment [the sentences] run consecutively unless the [federal] court orders that the terms are to run concurrently." The court did not run petitioner's federal sentence concurrent with the state sentence.
Based on the foregoing, it does not appear petitioner is entitled to habeas relief. However, because the factual record is not complete, the court will not dismiss the petition with prejudice at this stage. If petitioner chooses to file another habeas petition asserting these claims after exhausting his administrative remedies, he must explain how he is entitled to habeas relief in light of the analysis set forth above.
After reviewing the claims presented in the habeas petition in light of the applicable standard, the court determines that reasonable jurists would not find the court's treatment of any of petitioner's claims debatable or wrong, and none of the issues deserve encouragement to proceed further.
Based on the foregoing, respondent's motion to dismiss (DE 10) is GRANTED, and the petition is dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. A certificate of appealability is DENIED. The clerk of court is DIRECTED to close this case.
SO ORDERED.