CHRISTOPHER C. CONNER, Chief District Judge.
Presently before the court is a petition for writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 filed on March 20, 2015, by petitioner Dennever Livingston ("Livingston"), a federal inmate incarcerated at the Allenwood United States Penitentiary ("USP-Allenwood"), in White Deer, Pennsylvania. Livingston claims that his due process rights were violated in the context of a prison disciplinary hearing. The petition is ripe for disposition and, for the reasons that follow, will be denied.
In February 2009, while incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Complex Yazoo, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Livingston was charged in Incident Report Number 1839036 with using intoxicants, in violation of Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") Prohibited Acts Code Section 222. (Doc. 1, p. 2; Doc. 9-2, Ex. 1, Declaration of K. Michael Sullivan, Senior BOP Attorney ("Sullivan Decl."), ¶ 3). A disciplinary hearing was held and the disciplinary hearing officer ultimately found that Livingston committed the act as charged and sanctioned him with a loss of twenty-seven days of good conduct time. (Doc. 1, p. 2).
On October 8, 2014, Livingston filed Administrative Remedy No. 797799-R1 with the Northeast Regional Office. (Doc. 9-2, Sullivan Decl. ¶ 16; Doc. 9-2, p. 15, Administrative Remedy Generalized Retrieval). On October 14, 2014, Administrative Remedy No. 797799-R1 was rejected. (Doc. 1, p. 7; Doc. 9-2, Sullivan Decl. ¶ 17; Doc. 9-2, p. 15). Livingston was advised that the appeal was in improper form, he did not enclose a copy of the DHO report nor its date, and the charges being appealed were not identified. (
On November 20, 2014, Livingston appealed the rejection of Administrative Remedy No. 797799-R1 to the BOP Central Office, designated as Administrative Remedy No. 797799-A1. (Doc. 9-2, Sullivan Decl. ¶ 18; Doc. 9-2, p. 18). On February 24, 2015, the BOP Central Office rejected the appeal. (
There is no record that Livingston filed any other administrative remedies concerning the claims raised in the present habeas petition. Moreover, Livingston acknowledges that he did not file any further appeals. (Doc. 1, p. 3).
The instant petition was filed on March 20, 2015. (Doc. 1). In the petition, Livingston maintains that he did not commit the act for which he was charged, he did not possess an intoxicant during the timeframe in question, and the incident report was falsified. (
Respondent argues that the petition should be denied based on Livingston's failure to comply with the BOP's administrative review process. (Doc. 9, pp. 6-10). Despite the absence of a statutory exhaustion requirement attached to § 2241, courts have consistently required a petitioner to exhaust administrative remedies prior to bringing a habeas claim under § 2241.
In general, the BOP's administrative review remedy program is a multi-tier process that is available to inmates confined in institutions operated by the BOP for review of an issue which relates to any aspect of their confinement. (Doc. 9-2, Sullivan Decl. ¶ 5, citing 28 C.F.R. §§ 542.10, et seq.). With respect to disciplinary hearing decision appeals, a BOP inmate can initiate the first step of the administrative review process by filing a direct written appeal to the BOP's Regional Director (thus bypassing the institutional level of review) within twenty days after receiving the DHO's written report. (
In the instant matter, Livingston failed to exhaust the available administrative remedies. Livingston filed his initial administrative remedy to the Northeast Regional Office. The appeal was rejected based on his failure to provide a copy of the DHO report, and failure to identify the charges and date of the DHO action. (Doc. 1, p. 7). Livingston was advised that he "may resubmit [his] appeal in proper form within 10 days of the date of this rejection notice." (
Because Livingston has not alleged facts that would permit the court to find that exhaustion would have been futile, or that requiring exhaustion would subject him to "irreparable injury," the petition will be denied for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. To hold otherwise would frustrate the purposes of the exhaustion doctrine by allowing prisoners to invoke the judicial process despite failing to complete administrative review.
Based on the foregoing, the petition for writ of habeas corpus will be denied. An appropriate order will issue.