Reno v. Koray

515 U.S. 50, 115 S. Ct. 2021, 132 L. Ed. 2d 46, 1995 U.S. LEXIS 3781
Supreme Court of the United States·Decided June 5, 1995·No. 94-790·Published·Cited by 686 cases

Opinions

Chief Justice Rehnquist

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Title 18 U. S. C. § 3585(b) provides that a defendant generally must “be given credit toward the service of a term of imprisonment for any time he has spent in official detention prior to the date the sentence commences.” Before the commencement of respondent’s federal sentence, a Federal Magistrate Judge “released” him on bail pursuant to the Bail Reform Act of 1984 and ordered him confined to a community treatment center. The question presented is whether respondent was in “official detention,” and thus entitled to a sentence credit under § 3585(b), during the time he spent at the treatment center. We hold that he was not.

On April 23, 1991, respondent Ziya Koray was arrested for laundering monetary instruments in violation of 18 U. S. C. § 1956(a)(1). On June 18, 1991, he pleaded guilty to that charge in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. One week later, on June 25, 1991, a Federal Magistrate Judge entered a “release order” pursuant to 18 U. S. C. § 3142(c), ordering respondent released on bail, pending sentencing, into the custody of the Pretrial Services [53]*53Agency. The order required that he be “confined to [the] premises” of a Volunteers of America community treatment center without “authoriz[ation] to leave for any reason unless accompanied” by a Government special agent. On October 22, 1991, the District Court sentenced respondent to 41 months’ imprisonment. Respondent remained at the Volunteers of America facility until November 25, 1991, the day he reported to the Allenwood Federal Prison Camp to serve his sentence.

Respondent requested the Bureau of Prisons (BOP or Bureau) to credit toward his sentence of imprisonment the approximately 150 days he spent at the Volunteers of America community treatment center between June 25 and November 25, 1991. Relying on its established policy, BOP refused to grant the requested credit. After exhausting his administrative remedies, respondent filed a petition for habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania seeking credit under 18 U. S. C. § 3585 for the time he spent at the community treatment center. The District Court denied the petition, finding that respondent’s stay at the center did not constitute “official detention” within the meaning of 18 U. S. C. § 3585(b).

The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed. 21 F. 3d 558 (1994). It acknowledged that the overwhelming majority of the Courts of Appeals “have concluded that section 3585 . . . does not require the Bureau to credit presen-tenced defendants whose bail conditions allowed them to be confined outside of Bureau of Prison[s] facilities.” Id., at 561. The court declined, however, to defer to the Bureau’s view — that time spent under highly restrictive conditions while “released” on bail is not “‘official detention’” under § 3585(b) because a “ ‘released’ ” defendant is not subject to the Bureau’s control. Id., at 562-565. Instead, the court reasoned that § 3585(b)’s “ ‘official detention’ ” language need not be read “as if it provided ‘official detention by the Attorney General or the Bureau of Prisons, ’ ” since “there is noth[54]*54ing in the statute which requires or suggests that a defendant must be under the detention of the Bureau,” and since “[a] court may ‘detain’ a person as ‘offlcial[ly]’ as the Attorney General.” Id., at 563-564. Concluding that “‘official detention’ for purposes of credit under 18 U. S. C. § 3585 includes time spent under conditions of jail-type confinement,” id., at 567, the Court of Appeals remanded the case for a determination whether respondent was in “jail-type confinement” during his stay at the Volunteers of America community treatment center.

We granted the Government’s petition for certiorari to resolve a conflict among the Courts of Appeals on the question whether a federal prisoner is entitled to credit against his sentence under § 3585(b) for time when he was “released” on bail pursuant to the Bail Reform Act of 1984.1 513 U. S. 1106 (1995). We now reverse.

[55]*55Title 18 U. S. C. § 3585 determines when a federal sentence of imprisonment commences and whether credit against that sentence must be granted for time spent in “official detention” before the sentence began. It states:

“Calculation of a term of imprisonment
“(a) Commencement of Sentence. — A sentence to a term of imprisonment commences on the date the defendant is received in custody awaiting transportation to, or arrives voluntarily to commence service of sentence at, the official detention facility at which the sentence is to be served.
“(b) Credit for Prior Custody — A defendant shall be given credit toward the service of a term of imprisonment for any time he has spent in official detention prior to the date the sentence commences—
“(1) as a result of the offense for which the sentence was imposed; or
“(2) as a result of any other charge for which the defendant was arrested after the commission of the offense for which the sentence was imposed;
“that has not been credited against another sentence.” 18 U. S. C. § 3585 (emphasis added).

In United States v. Wilson, 503 U. S. 329, 337 (1992), we specifically noted Congress’ use of the term “ ‘official detention’ ” in § 3585(b), but we had no occasion to rule on the meaning of that term. We must do so today.2

[56]*56The Government contends that the phrase “official detention” in § 3585(b) refers to a court order detaining a defendant and committing him to the custody of the Attorney General for confinement. Respondent, on the other hand, argues that the phrase “official detention” includes the restrictive conditions of his release on bail because the Federal Magistrate’s bail order was “official” and significantly curtailed his liberty. Viewing the phrase in isolation, it may be said that either reading is plausible. But it is a “fundamental principle of statutory construction (and, indeed, of language itself) that the meaning of a word cannot be determined in isolation, but must be drawn from the context in which it is used.” Deal v. United States, 508 U. S. 129, 132 (1993). After examining the phrase “official detention” in this light, we believe the Government’s interpretation is the correct one.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Reno v. Koray, 515 U.S. 50, 115 S. Ct. 2021, 132 L. Ed. 2d 46, 1995 U.S. LEXIS 3781 (1995).

515 U.S. 50 (Reno v. Koray) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Medina v. Woods (INMATE 1)
M.D. Alabama, 2021
Stoll III v. Cowan
E.D. California, 2021
United States v. Sean Fitzgerald
906 F.3d 437 (Sixth Circuit, 2018)
Cole v. U.S. Department of Justice
District of Columbia, 2018
Click-To-Call Technologies, Lp v. Ingenio, Inc.
899 F.3d 1321 (Federal Circuit, 2018)
United States v. Nicholas Slatten
865 F.3d 767 (D.C. Circuit, 2017)
State v. Rushton
2017 UT 21 (Utah Supreme Court, 2017)
Daniel Zavala v. Richard Ives
785 F.3d 367 (Ninth Circuit, 2015)
Toor v. Holder
717 F. Supp. 2d 100 (District of Columbia, 2010)
Dutton v. U.S. Attorney General
713 F. Supp. 2d 194 (W.D. New York, 2010)
Rabbani v. Enzo Biochem, Inc.
682 F. Supp. 2d 400 (S.D. New York, 2010)
Sewell v. D'Alessandro & Woodyard, Inc.
655 F. Supp. 2d 1228 (M.D. Florida, 2009)
NINETE v. Thomas
607 F. Supp. 2d 1201 (D. Oregon, 2009)
United States v. Feist
585 F. Supp. 2d 1107 (D. North Dakota, 2008)
Somerville v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
579 F. Supp. 2d 821 (E.D. Kentucky, 2008)
United States v. Alabama Power Co.
681 F. Supp. 2d 1292 (N.D. Alabama, 2008)
United States v. E-Gold, Ltd.
550 F. Supp. 2d 82 (District of Columbia, 2008)