Heifer Rengifo-Valencia, Petitioner v. Warden, FCI Berlin, Respondent
This text of 2023 DNH 041 (Heifer Rengifo-Valencia, Petitioner v. Warden, FCI Berlin, Respondent) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
Heifer Rengifo-Valencia, Petitioner
v. Case No. 23-cv-082-SM Opinion No. 2023 DNH 041
Warden, FCI Berlin, Respondent
O R D E R
Heifer Rengifo-Valencia is a federal prisoner currently
being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin,
New Hampshire. He brings a petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 2241 asking the court to direct the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”)
to amend his release date to account for time credits he has
earned under the First Step Act. Because that petition is
premature, it is dismissed, albeit without prejudice.
Discussion
There are two ways by which inmates serving federally-
imposed sentences may reduce the amount of time they must serve
in prison. Those serving a term of imprisonment greater than
one year may earn “good time” credits for “exemplary compliance
with institutional disciplinary regulations.” 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b)(1). Inmates may also earn “time credits” under the
First Step Act for the successful completion of “evidence-based
recidivism reduction programming or productive activities.”
18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(A). This case involves the latter.
Rengifo-Valencia is currently serving a 120-month term of
imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of supervised
release. With the benefit of good time credits, his “Final
Statutory Release Date” is June 21, 2025. See Sentence
Monitoring Computation Data (document no. 5-3) at 1. He does
not dispute that calculation. He has earned 365 FSA time
credits that may be applied toward early transfer to supervised
release. See FSA Time Credit Assessment as of March 25, 2023
(document no. 5-4) at 1. See also 18 U.S.C.A. § 3624(g)(3)
(providing that the BOP may apply no more than 12 months of
earned FSA time credits to advance an inmate’s date of release
from prison to supervised release). So, factoring in both his
good time credits and his FSA time credits, Rengifo-Valencia’s
“Projected Release Date” is currently June 21, 2024 – that is,
365 days earlier than his “Final Statutory Release Date.”
Rengifo-Valencia moves the court to direct the BOP to amend
its records to change his “date of release” (presumably, his
“Final Statutory Release Date”) from June 21, 2025 to June 21,
2 2024, “by applying all earned FTC credits towards early
release.” Petition at 7. He mistakenly believes that the BOP
is improperly denying him the benefit of earned FSA time credits
due to the presence of an ICE detainer against him. Id. at 6.
That does not appear to be the case.
As of March 25, 2023, Rengifo-Valencia was credited with a
total of 735 FSA time credits: 365 FSA time credits that can
(eventually) be used to secure his early release to supervised
release and an additional 370 time credits that can (eventually)
be used toward placement in prerelease custody or home
confinement. But, prisoners can only apply FSA time credits
toward prerelease custody or early transfer to supervised
release once they have “earned time credits . . . in an amount
that is equal to the remainder of the prisoner’s imposed term of
imprisonment.” 18 U.S.C. § 3624(g)(1)(A). See also 28 C.F.R.
§ 523.44(b). In short, then, eligible inmates can accumulate
FSA time credits throughout their incarceration, but they may
only apply those accumulated time credits once they are
sufficient in number to meet or exceed the time remaining on the
inmate’s imposed term of imprisonment.
Parenthetically, the court notes that there does not appear
to be any similar restriction on the application of good time
3 credits. Consequently, while the BOP’s calculation of
petitioner’s “final statutory release” date (June 21, 2025) does
not include any earned FSA time credits, it does include
petitioner’s good time credit. Nevertheless, petitioner’s
earned FSA time credits are taken into account in the BOP’s
calculation of his “projected” release date (June 21, 2024).
While somewhat confusing and formalistic, perhaps, there is
some logic to this system. After all, FSA time credits can be
lost if, for example, the inmate violates prison rules. See 18
U.S.C. § 3632(e). See also 28 C.F.R. § 523.43. By waiting to
apply earned FSA time credits until an inmate has accumulated a
sufficient number to cover the remainder of his or her term of
imprisonment, time credits “can immediately be applied and would
no longer be subject to loss for future prohibited acts.”
Milchin v. Warden, No. 3:22-CV-195 (KAD), 2022 WL 1658836, at *3
(D. Conn. May 25, 2022). See also Adkins v. Engleman, No. CV
22-1988 JLS (MRW), 2022 WL 14966123, at *2 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 8,
2022), report and recommendation adopted, No. CV 22-1988 JLS
(MRW), 2022 WL 15116425 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 24, 2022) (“Put another
way, the statute requires the BOP to apply these credits when a
prisoner has earned enough to lead to an immediate end of a
custodial sentence.”).
4 Here, Rengifo-Valencia filed his petition on February 2,
2023. As of that date, he still had 870 days remaining until
his statutory release date of June 21, 2025, with 735 FSA time
credits (calculated as of March 25, 2023). While his BOP
records show that he remains eligible to earn FSA time credits,
he has not yet acquired sufficient credits to be able to apply
them toward prerelease custody or early transfer to supervised
release.
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, as well as those set forth in
the government’s memorandum, Rengifo-Valencia is not eligible
for the relief he seeks. His Petition for Relief under § 2241
seeking to amend the date of his statutory release date
(document no. 1) is denied, albeit without prejudice to his
ability to file a new petition if the BOP fails to properly
apply earned FSA time credits to his sentence when those credits
equal (or exceed) the time remaining on his sentence.
The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment in accordance with
this order and close the case.
5 SO ORDERED.
____________________________ Steven J. McAuliffe United States District Judge
April 20, 2023
cc: Heifer Rengifo-Valencia, pro se Heather A. Cherniske, Esq.
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