Medina v. Woods (INMATE 1)

District Court, M.D. Alabama·Decided July 27, 2021·No. 2:19-cv-00858·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHERN DIVISION

CARLOS MEDINA, ) Reg. No. 08028-104 ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:19-CV-858-WHA ) WALTER WOODS, ) ) Respondent. )

RECOMMENDATION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE I. INTRODUCTION1 This case is before the court on an amended 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition for writ of habeas corpus, Doc. 12, and an amendment to the petition, Doc. 25, filed by Carlos Medina.2 At the time he filed this case, Medina was incarcerated at the Montgomery Federal Prison Camp pursuant to a conviction and sentence imposed upon him by the

1All documents and attendant page numbers cited herein are those assigned by the Clerk of this court in the docketing process.

2Medina initiated this civil action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Based on the claims initially raised by Medina challenging the validity of his conviction and sentence, [t]he Southern District of Florida . . . deemed the petition, in actuality, a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion as such is the sole avenue for federal relief on the claims presented by Medina, and found the motion barred from its review as successive. Doc. 7 & Doc. 8. However, that court [subsequently] determined that to the extent Medina sought to present claims challenging the execution of his sentence, e.g., the calculation of his sentence or proper award of good time, under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 any such claim must be brought before [the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama]. Doc. 14. The Southern District of Florida therefore transferred the case to this court to the extent Medina might have presented claims which could proceed under § 2241. Doc. 16 at 3. United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida for conspiracy to commit health care fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349. Doc. 34-1 at 3. II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Upon receipt of this case, the undersigned entered an order requiring Medina to file an amended 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition. Doc, 16. In the operative amended petition,

Medina argues he is entitled to credit on his sentence for time served on home confinement pending trial, a condition of his bond, and, with such credit, is entitled to release on home confinement in accordance with the First Step Act. Doc. 17 at 1–2. Medina seeks his release to home confinement. Doc. 17 at 2. In an amendment to the amended petition filed on December 27, 2019, Medina challenges the restitution portion of his sentence and the

actual sentence of incarceration imposed upon him by United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Doc. 25 at 1–4. Medina again seeks credit for time served on home confinement prior to trial and additional relief in the form of a reduction in his sentence. Doc. 25 at 5. The respondent filed responses to the claims raised by Medina. Doc. 34, Doc. 36 &

Doc. 40. In these responses, the respondent argues Medina may not proceed in this action on any claims which go to the fundamental legality of his conviction and sentence, including the restitution imposed, as such claims are “not properly brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2241; instead, [this action with respect to those claims] is an improper successive § 2255 motion, which requires authorization from the [appropriate appellate court].” Doc. 34 at

3. The respondent further argues this court lacks jurisdiction to consider such claims. McCarthan v. Dir. of Goodwill Indus.-Suncoast, Inc., 851 F.3d 1076, 1087 (11th Cir. 2017), cert. denied, 138 S.Ct. 502 (Dec. 4, 2017), In addition, with respect to Medina’s claim alleging entitlement to credit on his sentence for time served on pre-trial home confinement as a condition of bond, the respondent maintains this claim is foreclosed by applicable federal law. Specifically, respondent argues that:

The Supreme Court unequivocally held in Reno v. Koray, 515 U.S. 50, 56 (1995) that time spent in home confinement or on electronic monitoring as a condition of bond is not considered “official detention” and therefore cannot be used as a credit against a defendant’s sentence. For this exact reason, the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ manual on sentence computation states as follows: “In short, under Koray, a defendant is not entitled to any time credit off the subsequent sentence, regardless of the severity or degree of restrictions, if such release was a condition of bond or release on own recognizance, or as a condition of parole, probation or supervised release.” See generally Rohmer Decl. (discussing BOP Program Statement 5580.28, Sentence Computation Manual New Law/CCCA 1984 at 1-14G, 1-14H). Because Petitioner’s nine month pre-trial home confinement was a condition of bond, it does not constitute “official detention.” See id. ¶ 6. Therefore, it cannot be applied against his sentence, and he is not entitled to immediate release; instead, he is projected to earn approximately 369 days of Good Time Credit, entitling him to a projected Statutory Release Date of January 4, 2022. See id. ¶ 12.

Doc. 34 at 8–9. In his initial supplemental response, the respondent also maintains Medina received a recalculation of his good time under the First Step Act which did not entitle him to release and further asserts Medina had not met the age requirement for placement on home confinement at the time of filing this action. Doc. 36 at 2. Finally, in an additional supplemental response, the respondent argues due to Medina’s subsequent early release to home confinement, those claims “that relate to Petitioner’s entitlement to a release to home confinement and the timing thereof are now moot.” Doc. 40 at 2. III. DISCUSSION A. Claims Challenging Petitioner’s C/onviction and Sentence “Typically, collateral attacks on the validity of a federal sentence must be brought [in a motion to vacate] under § 2255.” Darby v. Hawk-Sawyer, 405 F.3d 942, 944 (11th Cir. 2005); McCarthan, 851 F.3d at 1081 (noting that for decades “Congress has required

that a federal prisoner file a motion to vacate, 28 U.S.C. § 2255, instead of petition for writ of habeas corpus, [28 U.S.C.] § 2241, to collaterally attack the legality of his sentence.”). A motion to vacate allows a prisoner to contest his sentence “upon the ground that the sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255(a). Section 2255(e) makes clear that a motion to vacate is the exclusive mechanism for a federal prisoner to seek collateral relief unless he can satisfy the “saving clause” at the end of that subsection:

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