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 April 27, 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. (
In October 2008, while incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Complex in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Livingston was charged in Incident Report Number 1788032 with possessing intoxicants, in violation of Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") Prohibited Acts Code Section 222. (Doc. 1, p. 2; Doc. 7-2, 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 30, 2014, Livingston filed Administrative Remedy No. 799864-R1 with the Northeast Regional Office. (Doc. 1, p. 6; Doc. 7-2, Sullivan Decl. ¶ 16; Doc. 7-2, p. 16, Administrative Remedy Generalized Retrieval). On October 30, 2014, Administrative Remedy No. 799864-R1 was rejected. (
On February 9, 2015, Livingston appealed the rejection of Administrative Remedy No. 799864-R1 to the BOP Central Office, designated as Administrative Remedy No. 799864-A1. (Doc. 1, p. 5; Doc. 7-2, Sullivan Decl. ¶ 18; Doc. 7-2, p. 20). On March 25, 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. (Doc. 7-2, Sullivan Decl. ¶ 20). Moreover, Livingston acknowledges that he did not file any further appeals. (Doc. 1, p. 3).
The instant petition was filed on April 27, 2015. (Doc. 1). In the petition, Livingston claims that his due process rights were violated during the course of the prison disciplinary hearing. (
Respondent argues that the petition should be denied based on Livingston's failure to comply with the BOP's administrative review process. (Doc. 7, 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. 7-2, 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 as untimely. (Doc. 1, p. 6). Livingston then filed an appeal with the Central Office. The Central Office rejected his appeal on February 9, 2015 because it was submitted to the wrong level. (Doc. 1, p. 5). The Central Office advised Livingston to provide staff verification indicating that the reason for the untimely filing was not his fault. (
Livingston waited approximately six years to appeal the decision of the disciplinary hearing officer, well beyond the allotted twenty days. It is clear that the appeal was patently untimely and, therefore, appropriately rejected. 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.