Quintero v. United States Sentence Commission

• Court: District Court, District of Columbia
• Decided: March 20, 2012
• Docket: Civil Action No. 2012-0435
• Status: Published

Opinion

FILED

MAR 2 0 2012 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Clerk, U.S. District & Bankruptcy FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA C0urts for the District of Co|umbla

JAIME QUINTERO, ) ) Plaintiff, ) )

v_ ) Civil Action No. g-

) 12 O43o UNITED STATES SENTENCING ) COMMISSION, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the Court on the plaintiff s application to proceed in forma pauperis and his pro se complaint. The Court will grant the application and dismiss the complaint.

lt appears that the plaintiff is serving a tenn of life imprisonment, and that he disputes whether "life" means "natural life" or a 360-month term of incarceration. See Compl. at 3 (page number designated by the Court). The plaintiff alleges that the sentence imposed by the United States District Court for the District of Arizona is illegal, and he requests "a new sentencing with hearing according with Criminal Rule 43" or, alternatively, his "release from prison." Id.

The Court construes the complaint as a challenge to the legality of the plaintiffs criminal sentence, A challenge of this nature must be presented to the sentencing court in a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. See Ojo v. Immigration & Naturalz`zatz'on Serv., 106 F.3d 680, 683 (5th Cir. 1997). Section 2255 provides specifically that:

[a] prisoner in custody under sentence of a court established by Act of Congress claiming the right to be released 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, may move the court which imposed the sentence to vacate set aside or correct the sentence.

28 U.S.C. § 2255(a) (emphasis added).

The court will dismiss the complaint for subject v tter jurisdiction and it will be ‘!

dismissed. An Order accompanies this Me

Unitell States District Judge

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