RENÉE MARIE BUMB, District Judge.
This matter comes before the Court upon Petitioner's submission of an Amended Petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (ECF Nos. 1, 8); Respondents' Answer to the Amended Petition (ECF Nos. 7, 12); and Petitioner's Response (ECF No. 9.) Also before the Court is Petitioner's letter request for a hearing and for appointment of pro bono counsel. (ECF No. 14.) For the reasons discussed below, Petitioner's request for a hearing and for appointment of pro bono counsel will be denied, and the habeas petition will be denied.
Petitioner, Hugh Maurice Allen Wade, is a federal inmate confined at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey ("FCI-Fairton") (ECF No. 1, ¶2.) On January 30, 1979, Petitioner was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland to a prison term of fifteen years for distribution of heroin, a consecutive ten years for bank robbery, and a 5-year special parole term to follow. (Gervasoni Certificate, ECF No. 7-4, Ex. 1 [Sentence Monitoring Computation Data, pp. 7-8]).
The Commission paroled Petitioner from this aggregate 25-year sentence on September 29, 1986, to remain under "regular" parole supervision until July 24, 2002.
Petitioner was reparoled July 3, 1992, to remain under regular parole supervision until November 23, 2006. (
The Commission revoked Petitioner's parole again on April 25, 1995, ordering that he receive no credit for time spent on parole, and that he serve 32 months prior to reparole. (
Petitioner was again paroled on October 28, 1999, with parole supervision extending until May 19, 2009. (
On May 13, 2003, the Commission issued a warrant charging Petitioner with violating the conditions of parole by committing violations of law including theft, possession of controlled dangerous substance, fraud by identity theft and forgery. (
On June 1, 2005, the Baltimore City Circuit Court sentenced Petitioner to an aggregate 21-year sentence for theft, forgery and related counts. (
The decision was a departure from Petitioner's parole guideline range, which was 60-72 months. (
(Gervasoni Certificate, Ex. 13, pp. 3-4 [Revocation Hearing Summary]).
Petitioner filed an administrative appeal in which he argued that a decision outside the guidelines was not supported. (
A habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 is the proper vehicle for a prisoner to challenge the execution of his sentence, including parole decisions by the United States Parole Commission.
If a habeas petition presents only issues of law an evidentiary hearing is not required. 28 U.S.C. § 2243;
There is no constitutional or statutory right to appointment of counsel in a civil proceeding.
The first factor is the litigant's ability to present his or her case.
A second factor is the degree to which factual investigation will be required.
Respondents assert Petitioner has not exhausted any of the three levels of the administrative remedy process concerning his claim that the BOP erroneously denied Industrial/Work Credit (Ground Twelve), and his claim that the BOP discriminates against Old Law inmates (unlike "New Law" inmates — whose convicted offenses were committed on or after November 1, 1987) by holding them to higher standards to receive "Reductions in Sentences" (RIS)(Ground Thirteen). (Declaration of Patricia Kitka, ECF No. 7-1, ¶¶ 6-10).
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals applies the exhaustion doctrine to petitions for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241.
Petitioner has not addressed Respondents' contention that he failed to exhaust the BOP administrative remedy process for the claims against the BOP raised in his petition.
In Ground One, Petitioner contends the Commission used a
1991 conviction that had been vacated to determine he was a poor parole risk. Respondents assert the Commission first revoked Petitioner's parole based on a July 24, 1990 conviction for conspiracy and uttering, for which he received a ten-year sentence. (
Furthermore, Respondents claim Petitioner explained, during his most recent revocation hearing, that the sentence for the 1990 conviction was suspended. (Gervasoni Certificate, Ex. 16 [Revocation Summary]). In reply, Petitioner submits that he was mistaken about the suspended sentence; the conviction was actually vacated but he has been unable to obtain documents supporting this claim. (
First, the Court notes Petitioner's Salient Factor Score for prior convictions under the Parole Guidelines is the same whether he had two rather than three prior convictions.
Petitioner contends there are mitigating circumstances that justify a different decision by the Commission, including his diagnosis of multiple myeloma in 2009, his confinement to a wheelchair for the last several years, and that he served 12 years imprisonment in the State of Maryland on the conviction for which his parole was revoked. Respondents argue the Commission considered but rejected these factors. (Gervasoni Certificate, Ex. 12, p. 1 [Revocation Hearing Summary];
Petitioner asserts he was treated unequally from others because the Parole Commission did not follow precedent in awarding parole violator credit for time he served in a state facility. He seeks credit for 12 years served in the Maryland Department of Corrections.
Respondents explain that the Commission considers convictions as a basis for the forfeiture of street time, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4210(b)(2) and 28 C.F.R. § 2.52(c)(2). 18 U.S.C. § 4210(b)(2)(repealed) provides that in the case of any prisoner "who has been convicted of any offense" that is punishable by a term of incarceration, the Commission shall decide "whether all or any part of the unexpired term being served at the time of parole shall run concurrently or consecutively with the sentence imposed for the new offense."
28 C.F.R. § 2.52(c)(2) provides that "[i]t is the Commission's interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 4210(b)(2) that, if a parolee has been convicted of a new offense committed subsequent to his release on parole which is punishable by any term of imprisonment, detention, or incarceration in any penal facility, forfeiture of time from the date of such release to the date of execution of the warrant is an automatic statutory penalty, and such time shall not be credited to the service of the sentence."
The Commission gave Petitioner "reparole guidelines credit" for the 137 months he served in state custody. (Gervasoni Certificate, Ex. 12, p. 4 [Revocation Hearing Summary]("The subject has been in custody 143 months as of 3/25/2015, which includes guideline credit of 137 months for time in custody in service of the conviction in charge 1 prior to the warrant execution.");
Regulations require the Commission to give credit against the reparole guidelines for periods of time a parolee was incarcerated on a new state or federal sentence. 28 C.F.R. § 2.21(c) provides:
(emphasis added).
28 C.F.R. § 2.47(e)(1) provides that a violator whose parole is revoked "shall be given credit for all time in federal, state, or local confinement on a new offense for purposes of satisfaction of the reparole guidelines at §§ 2.20 and 2.21."
Respondents are correct. Reparole credit is used to determine when a prisoner will be reparoled on his revoked sentence, not when the sentence will expire.
In Ground Four, Petitioner contends the Commission violated his right to due process by not giving him advance notice that his previous violations would be used against him as aggravating circumstances to go above the guidelines. Therefore, he was not prepared to argue that one of the convictions used against him was vacated.
Similarly, in Supplemental Ground One of the Amended Petition (ECF No. 8), Petitioner asserts that the Commission denied his right to due process by not advising him that he was exposed to a confinement beyond the parole guidelines by virtue of having three new criminal conduct violations. In support of this claim, Petitioner argues the Armed Career Criminal Act requires fair notice of enhanced sentencing, and the same should apply to parole revocation. Finally, in Supplemental Ground Two of the Amended Petition, Petitioner contends the Commission did not properly certify his 1990 conviction, which was used to exceed the guidelines at his revocation hearing.
Respondents argue Petitioner does not have a due process right to notice of previous violations that might be used against him in determining that he was a poor parole risk. Furthermore, Petitioner had a right under 28 C.F.R. § 2.56(a) to request copies of disclosable records in his file; and such requests are "answered as soon as possible in the order of their receipt." (Respondents' Answer to Pet. for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, ECF No. 7 at 21.) Respondents assert, however, that Petitioner does not have a right to be notified of his right to request documents.
The minimal due process requirements for a final parole revocation hearing include:
Although due process requires disclosure of the evidence to be used against the parolee at his parole revocation hearing, it is unclear whether this extends to advance disclosure of information that the Commission may deem an aggravating circumstance warranting a decision beyond the guidelines.
There is a three-part inquiry for determining whether a particular procedure is required by the Due Process Clause including:
The Tenth Circuit reasoned that a parolee has a substantial interest in avoiding unjustified departure from the parole guidelines, but the Government has a substantial interest in avoiding undue delay in parole revocations proceedings.
The Tenth Circuit determined that advance disclosure would be of limited value because aggravating circumstances for parole revocation, like upward departures in sentencing under the Sentencing Guidelines, were generally drawn from "documented administrative history" otherwise available to the parolee. In other words, a parolee has access to his prior parole revocation and criminal history before his parole revocation hearing, and advance notice of such provides little more than "time to refine legal arguments."
Furthermore, there is no due process right for the Commission to "certify" a conviction before it can consider the conviction in determining a person's parole risk. There is no basis to impose such a due process right because the Commission may in fact revoke parole on the basis of charges that the parolee has been acquitted of in court because the Commission makes findings by a preponderance of the evidence standard, which is lower than guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Finally, there is no basis to impose the standards for enhancing a sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act on the U.S. Parole Commission's guidelines determinations because parole revocation is not part of a criminal prosecution.
Petitioner believes the Commission improperly "doublecounted" by using the same factors to designate a guideline range of 60-72 months as it used to exceed the guideline range. Respondents disagree because the Commission departed from the guidelines based on Petitioner's pattern of fraud offenses of escalating severity, and his guidelines only took into account that his offense involved fraud/theft of more than $500. (Gervasoni Certificate, Ex. 13, pp. 2, 3 [Notice of Action]). Therefore, in considering the aggravating factors, the Commission took into account considerations beyond those that were used in making the guidelines determination.
Double-counting is when the Commission uses "the same factor in scoring a prisoner pursuant to the guidelines and as an aggravating factor justifying a decision above the guidelines."
Good cause for the Parole Commission to depart from the guidelines includes "consideration of factors such as whether `the prisoner was involved in an offense with an unusual degree of sophistication or planning or has a lengthy prior record, or was part of a large scale conspiracy or continuing criminal enterprise.'"
Here, the Commission scored the offense severity rating as Category 5 because the crime involved possession of instruments for manufacture of forged checks. (Gervasoni Certificate, Ex. 12, p. 3 [Revocation Hearing Summary]). The decision to depart upward from the guidelines was based on additional considerations, including that each of Petitioner's consecutive convictions for fraud and counterfeit check operations became more sophisticated and larger in scale and scope.
Petitioner challenges the calculation of credit for twelve-years served in state custody until he was taken into federal custody on October 1, 2014. Petitioner asserts that because 28 C.F.R. § 2.21 is in conflict with the Commission's Procedures Manual Section 2.20-03(D), the rule of lenity should apply and he should get twelve years credit against his sentence.
Respondents suggest Petitioner misunderstands the difference between credit towards satisfaction of his sentence, and credit towards his reparole guidelines. Section 2.20-03(d) of the Procedures Manual instructs employees how to calculate "time in custody" for purposes of the reparole guidelines. This provision is not in conflict with 28 C.F.R. § 2.21(c), which instructs that:
(emphasis added).
In reply, Petitioner states he understands that the Government gave him reparole credit for 137 months served in state custody, but when added to the 17 years he served in federal custody, it equals 29 years, which is four years more than his actual sentence.
Petitioner's claim that §§ 2.21(c) and 2.20-03(d) are in conflict is incorrect. Credit towards reparole guidelines does not affect the computation of the expiration date of the violator term.
Therefore, the Court will deny Grounds Six and Eight of the petition.
Petitioner alleges that when parole was abolished, the Parole Commission did not follow the mandate of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553 because the agency did not give an opportunity to participate in the rule-making process. In support of this claim, Petitioner alleged the agency no longer has a Regional Commissioner to approve or deny the Examiner's decision. He concludes the agency acted arbitrarily, and the court can set aside agency action.
Respondents note Petitioner failed to point to any particular change in Commission regulations that was not carried out in accordance with the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act. Furthermore, Petitioner is incorrect that there are no longer Regional Commissioners to review recommendations made by hearing officers. Review by the Regional Commissioner is governed by 28 C.F.R. § 2.24.
Upon this Court's review of the Amended Petition, Petitioner does not set forth a cognizable claim that the Commission violated the notice and comment requirement of Section 4 of the APA, 5 U.S.C. § 553.
Petitioner contends the Parole Commission violated the Eighth Amendment by giving him a parole date that exceeds his sentence.
While it is true that the Eighth Amendment prohibits imposition of punishment that is grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime,
Petitioner claims he should receive a sentencing reduction based on changes in the Sentencing Guidelines. He recognizes that he was convicted prior to the new sentencing guidelines, prohibiting him from filing a motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3582. Nonetheless, Petitioner argues that under the new guidelines, his age would reduce his sentence.
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines were promulgated on November 1, 1987, and implemented nationwide in January 1989. Barbara S. Meierhoefer,
In the accompanying Order filed herewith, the Court will deny Petitioner's requests for an evidentiary hearing and appointment of pro bono counsel, and deny the Amended Petition.
In Petitioner's case, his 25-year sentence for distribution of heroin, bank robbery, bank larceny, assault during a bank robbery, and aiding and abetting stopped running on his parole release date of October 28, 1999, at which time Petitioner had 3,491 days remaining on his 25-year sentence. (Gervasoni Certificate, Ex. 8, p.3 [Warrant]). The sentence did not begin to run again until October 1, 2014, when Petitioner was taken into federal custody on the detainer. Therefore, the 3,491 day sentence (nine years, six months and 21 days) will start to run on October 14, 2015, and the Commission properly calculated Petitioner's sentence. (