Lenchick v. Easter

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 3, 2020
Docket3:20-cv-00905
StatusUnknown

This text of Lenchick v. Easter (Lenchick v. Easter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lenchick v. Easter, (M.D. Pa. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA JOSH LENCHICK, :

Petitioner : 3:20-CV-0905 v. : (JUDGE MANNION)

WARDEN D. EASTER, : Respondent : MEMORANDUM I. BACKGROUND On May 14, 2020, petitioner Josh Lenchick, an inmate at FCI-Danbury, Connecticut, filed, pro se, a letter Motion for Immediate Compassionate Release to Home Confinement and attached exhibits in support of his Motion, (Doc. 706), including a copy of Warden Easter’s response to his request for Compassionate Release under 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(1)(A), based on his concerns over the COVID-19 virus. In her April 29, 2020 response denying Lenchick’s request, Easter indicates that he “[has been reviewed under the [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), Pub. L. 116-136, §12003]”, and that “based on current guidelines you are ineligible for release to home confinement.” (Id. at 3). In his filing, Lenchick essentially requests the court to direct the BOP to immediately transfer him from prison to home confinement at his mother’s house in Luzerne, Pennsylvania, which the court construes as a petition for writ of 1 habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2241, related to his 60-month prison sentence, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Doc. 706). 1 In particular, Lenchick seeks the court to alter his sentence and to immediately release him from confinement in prison at FCI-Danbury to home confinement with his mother due to his fear that he may contract the COVID-19 virus in the prison

which he alleges is “one of [the] virus Hot Zones”, seemingly referring to the Danbury prison’s designation by Attorney General Barr in his April 3, 2020 Memorandum to the BOP. He contends that he is at risk of contracting the virus since “there are already confirmed cases of COVID-19 [at the prison]” and one death. Lenchick also alleges that a class action lawsuit is pending against the prison “due to the way [it] has handled this pandemic.” Lenchick further alleges that the inmates “are housed in close quarters and the medical staff is insufficient.” Additionally, Lenchick alleges that he has medical conditions (physical and mental), namely, PTSD, “sever anixty” (sic), depression, asthma, as well as obesity, that will put him at greater risk to

1The court notes that although Lenchick does not cite to any statutory basis for his motion, the court does not find his filing as a motion against the government. Rather, upon review, the court finds that it is a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2241. See Cordaro v. Finley, 2020 WL 2084960 (April 30, 2020). Thus, the court construes Lenchick to be the petitioner, and the proper respondent is Warden Easter at FCI-Danbury. See 28 U.S.C. §2243. “The writ, or order to show cause shall be directed to the person having custody of the person detained. These provisions contemplate a proceeding against some person who has the immediate custody of the party detained, with the power to produce the body of such party before the court or judge.” Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 434 (2004). 2 suffer more severe consequences if he does contract the virus. Also, Lenchick is currently 31 years old (DOB July 3, 1988) and not in the high risk age category.2 Alternatively, the court could construe Lenchick’s filing as a motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(1)(A)(i). However, for the reasons set forth below, the court will construe

Lenchick’s motion as a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2241, and it will transfer his case to the District of Connecticut, where habeas jurisdiction properly arises.3 Insofar as Lenchick’s filing is considered as a motion for compassionate release, it will be dismissed without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction due to his clear failure to exhaust his BOP administrative

2The court notes that it considered Lenchick’s age as well as his physical condition stated in his PSR, (Doc. 347 at 2, 12-13), which reflects that he was prescribed Ibuprofen and Amoxicillin after he had surgery in 2017 to repair facial fractures, and that he was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and bipolar disorder. Lenchick reported that he was not prescribed medication for his mental conditions. 3“There is a judicially created exhaustion requirement for habeas petitions brought under 28 U.S.C. §2241.” Furando v. Ortiz, 2020 WL 1922357, *3 (D.N.J. April 21, 2020) (citing Callwood v. Enos, 230 F.3d 627, 633-34 (3d Cir. 2000)). Even though it appears that defendant has not exhausted all of his administrative remedies available with the BOP regarding her habeas petition, the court will leave it up to the District Court that has jurisdiction over his petition to decide whether it should be dismissed without prejudice. See Furando, supra (court dismissed without prejudice the habeas petition of inmate serving his federal sentence at FCI-Fort Dix who sought immediate release to home confinement under the CARES Act, based on the COVID-19 virus, due to his failure to exhaust his BOP administrative remedies available under 28 C.F.R. §§542.10 to 542.19.). 3 remedies under §3582(c)(1)(A)(i). In fact, in her recent April 29, 2020 response denying Lenchick’s request for compassionate release to home confinement, Warden Easter advised him that “[i]f you are not satisfied with this response to your request, you may commence an appeal of this decision via the administrative remedy process by submitting your concerns on the

appropriate form (BP-9) within 20 days of the receipt of this response.” Lenchick does not state that he filed any appeal of the Warden’s decision and the time to do so has not yet expired. Nor does Lenchick allege that he should be excused from the requirement that he must exhaust his BOP administrative remedies prior to filing a request with the court for compassionate release. To the extent Lenchick is deemed as seeking the court to order the BOP to find him eligible for immediate home confinement designation under the CARES Act, the court does not have authority to grant his request for relief and order the BOP to release him to home confinement.4

4Even though the government has not yet responded to Lenchick’s motion, in light of the emergency nature of the motion, the court will transfer it to the proper District to the extent it is a §2241 habeas petition. Also, insofar as Lenchick’s motion is one for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(1)(A), the court can act sua sponte to dismiss it based on lack of jurisdiction since it is apparent on the face of his motion that he did not exhaust his administrative remedies. 4 II. DISCUSSION5 In his present 2-page letter Motion, (Doc.

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Related

Preiser v. Rodriguez
411 U.S. 475 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Rumsfeld v. Padilla
542 U.S. 426 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Woodall v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
432 F.3d 235 (Third Circuit, 2005)
United States v. Figueroa
349 F. App'x 727 (Third Circuit, 2009)

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Bluebook (online)
Lenchick v. Easter, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lenchick-v-easter-pamd-2020.