Robert E. McCaffrey v. Olin G. Blackwell, Warden, United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia

354 F.2d 71
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 28, 1966
Docket22806
StatusPublished

This text of 354 F.2d 71 (Robert E. McCaffrey v. Olin G. Blackwell, Warden, United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robert E. McCaffrey v. Olin G. Blackwell, Warden, United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia, 354 F.2d 71 (5th Cir. 1966).

Opinion

THORNBERRY, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from an order by Judge Frank A. Hooper of the Northern District of Georgia, denying appellant’s petition for habeas corpus. Appellant’s contention is that he has completed service of a sentence he ultimately received in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and is entitled to release. We do not think so.

Chronologically, the events leading up to this Court’s present consideration of appellant’s case are as follows:

June 1, 1962 — Appellant entered his plea of guilty to the offense of transporting forged securities In interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314, and was sentenced by Judge Choate of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to be committed to the custody of the Attorney General under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 4208(b) for study before the final imposition of sentence. (Appellant was present for the imposition of this sentence.)

October 31, 1962 — The district court sentenced appellant in his absence to a term of three years under 18 U.S.C. § 4208(b) (2). The order imposing this sentence specified that the sentence would run from June 1, 1962, the date of the original sentence.

January 2, 1964 — This Court, in a per curiam opinion (McCaffrey v. United States, 325 F.2d 767), affirmed the denial by the district court of a § 2255 motion filed by appellant, attacking the sentence of October 31, 1962, on the ground that it was imposed in appellant’s absence.

January 10, 1964 — Appellant was released on parole from the U. S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, Ga., to remain under supervision until May 31, 1965.

June 5, 1964- — This Court recalled its per curiam opinion of January 2, 1964, in view of the holding by the U. S. Supreme Court in United States v. Behrens, 375 U.S. 162, 84 S.Ct. 295, 11 L.Ed.2d 224 (1963), and entered another per curiam opinion (McCaffrey v. United States, 332 F.2d 619), as follows:

“In this case there was a preliminary commitment of the defendant under 18 U.S.C.A. § 4208(b). The defendant was absent when final sentence was fixed. Under Behrens such final sentence cannot be fixed in the absence of the defendant. The judgment of the lower court is reversed and the cause is remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

September 8, 1964 — On the basis of a warrant application, alleging that appellant had violated his parole on or about August 15, 1964, a parole violator warrant was issued by a member of the U. S. Board of Parole, directing that appellant be taken into custody.

September 18,1964 — Appellant was arrested by the U. S. Marshal, Philadelphia, *73 Pa. Subsequently, the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, upon consideration of appellant’s petition for writ of habeas corpus, entered an order on October 13, 1964, fixing bond in the sum of $500.00, conditioned on his appearance before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida within 30 days from November 2, 1964, “or at such time as that Court shall otherwise order.” As a result, appellant made bond within a few days thereafter.

December 3, 1964 — Judge Choate, Judge of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, entered an order in accordance with the last mandate of this Court (June 5, 1964) vacating and setting aside the sentence imposed on appellant on October 31, 1962 and directing appellant to appear for final sentencing on December 11, 1964.

February 8, 1965 — The District Judge sentenced appellant, who was present, to imprisonment for a period of three (3) years, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4208(b) (2) and further ordered, under the provisions of this section, “That this sentence shall run from the date of the original sentence, June 1,1962.”

March 3, 1965 — The U. S. Board of Parole revoked appellant’s parole.

March 9, 1965 — Appellant filed his petition for writ of habeas corpus in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleging that since the sentence of February 8, 1965 was made effective June 1, 1962, his sentence had therefore expired by continuing to run after January 10, 1964, the date he was released on parole. On the same date, Judge Hooper issued an order to show cause why this petition should not be granted, and on April 5, 1965 Judge Hooper entered an order denying appellant’s petition for writ of habeas corpus, from which appellant now appeals.

Appellant takes-the position that when the mandate of this Court, holding that the sentence imposed in his absence was improper, was filed with the Clerk of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on June 29, 1964, its effect was to make the appellant’s original sentence void and thus the jurisdiction of the U. S. Board of Parole over appellant ended; therefore, appellant could not thereafter be a parole violator.

In effect, he contends that since his new three-year sentence, imposed in his presence on February 5, 1965, was to run from June 1, 1962 (the date of the original sentence), he is entitled to release in that the time he spent in “custody,” plus statutory good time, is more than three years. In other words, appellant asserts that on his new three-year sentence, he is entitled to the following “credits”:

1. Time in prison from June 1, 1962 to January 10,1964 588 days
2. Time on parole from January 11, 1964 to June 29,1964 170 days
3. Time in Court custody before the District Judge acted as a result of this Courts’ opinion, June 29, 1964 to December 3, 1964 79 days
4. Time in jail on parole violator warrant 32 days
5. Time in prison, February 5, 1965 to present 270 days (app.)
6. Statutory good time 252 days
7. Meritorious good time 19 days

If appellant’s contention is correct, the effect of his re-sentencing was to erase the action of the parole board in declaring him to be a parole violator and revok *74 ing his parole, with the resulting consequence of loss of earned time for good behavior and the time he was on parole.

While there does not appear to be a case exactly in point, the recent case of United States v. Walker, 346 F.2d 428 (4th Cir. 1965) is similar.

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Related

Murphy v. Massachusetts
177 U.S. 155 (Supreme Court, 1900)
Anderson v. Corall
263 U.S. 193 (Supreme Court, 1923)
Zerbst v. Kidwell
304 U.S. 359 (Supreme Court, 1938)
United States v. Behrens
375 U.S. 162 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Moorehead v. Hunter, Warden
198 F.2d 52 (Tenth Circuit, 1952)
Donald Elliot Matthews v. United States
290 F.2d 198 (Ninth Circuit, 1961)
Robert Emmett McCaffrey v. United States
325 F.2d 767 (Fifth Circuit, 1964)
Robert Emmett McCaffrey v. United States
332 F.2d 619 (Fifth Circuit, 1964)
United States v. Elmer Wilson Walker
346 F.2d 428 (Fourth Circuit, 1965)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
354 F.2d 71, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robert-e-mccaffrey-v-olin-g-blackwell-warden-united-states-ca5-1966.