United States v. Beavers

740 F. Supp. 549, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8857, 1990 WL 97815
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedJuly 12, 1990
DocketNo. 88-10066-02
StatusPublished

This text of 740 F. Supp. 549 (United States v. Beavers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Beavers, 740 F. Supp. 549, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8857, 1990 WL 97815 (C.D. Ill. 1990).

Opinion

ORDER

MIHM, District Judge.

Eugene Beavers has filed a Motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3585 requesting that the Court credit his sentence with the time he spent on bond between his arrest and sentencing from November 22, 1988 through October 16, 1989.

Beavers argues that the term “in custody” in § 3585 should be ascribed a meaning identical to that phrase under the habeas corpus statutes, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254 and 2255. By refusing to credit him with this time, Mr. Beavers asserts that the Attorney General has extended his sentence without due process, and, by applying it differently to those persons released on bond than to those suffering from other restraints on their liberty, the Attorney General has violated his equal protection rights.

Before considering the merits of Mr. Beavers’ arguments, however, his standing to raise those issues must be examined. Under § 3568, where the sentence imposed plus the time spent in presentence custody totalled less than the maximum sentence provided for that offense, there is a presumption that the sentencing judge had given credit for any presentenee custody. Holt v. United States, 422 F.2d 822 (7th Cir.1970). Accord, Parker v. Estelle, 498 F.2d 625 (5th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 963, 95 S.Ct. 1951, 44 L.Ed.2d 450 (1974); Trimmings v. Henderson, 498 F.2d 86 (5th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 931, 95 S.Ct. 1135, 43 L.Ed.2d 405 (1974); Swift v. United States, 436 F.2d 390 (8th Cir.1970), cert. denied, 403 U.S. 920, 91 S.Ct. 2237, 29 L.Ed.2d 698 (1970). If Mr. Beavers’ sentence was for less than the maximum, he would not have had standing to challenge this sentence under § 3568. Swift, 436 F.2d 390, 392-93. The Court is aware of no reason for questions of standing to be any different under § 3585 and [551]*551therefore finds that the' presumption attaches under the same circumstances as under § 3568.

Mr. Beavers was convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and was sentenced to 33 months incarceration, six years supervised release and a $7,500 fine. The possible penalties for violation of § 841(a)(1), set out in § 841(b), vary from five years to life with fines up to $5,000,000, depending on the type and quantity of controlled substance involved. Mr. Beavers’ conviction involved 367.42 grams of cocaine. Under § 841(b)(1)(C), the maximum sentence he could have received was 20 years. His actual sentence is far less than that. As a result, the presumption attaches and Mr. Beavers has no standing under § 3585.

Even if Plaintiff had standing to raise these issues, however, his arguments would fail. 18 U.S.C. § 3585 replaced 18 U.S.C. § 3568 pursuant to Pub.L. 98-473. The repealed statute provided in pertinent part:

The sentence of imprisonment ... shall commence to run from the date on which such person is received at the penitentiary ... for service of such sentence. The Attorney General shall give any such person credit toward service of his sentence for any days spent in custody in connection with the offense or acts for which the sentence was imposed. (Emphasis added).

Section 3585 provides that:

A sentence to a term of imprisonment commences on the date that 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 ... 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____ (Emphasis added).

All the circuit courts which interpreted § 3568 concluded that “in custody” referred to “detention or imprisonment in a place of confinement and ... not ... to the stipulations imposed when a defendant is at large on conditional release.” United States v. Peterson, 507 F.2d 1191, 1192 (D.C.Cir.1974). Accord, United States v. Figueroa, 828 F.2d 70, 71 (1st Cir.1987); Villaime v. U.S. Department of Justice, 804 F.2d 498, 499 (8th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1022, 107 S.Ct. 1908, 95 L.Ed.2d 514 (1987); Ortega v. United States, 510 F.2d 412, 413 (10th Cir.1975); Polakoff v. United States, 489 F.2d 727, 730 (5th Cir.1974). Cf. United States v. Robles, 563 F.2d 1308, 1309 (9th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 925, 98 S.Ct. 1491, 55 L.Ed.2d 519 (1978) (bail pending appeal); Sica v. United States, 454 F.2d 281 (9th Cir.1971) (bail pending appeal). See also, United States v. Golden, 795 F.2d 19, 21 (3rd Cir.1986) (court agreed that sentence at issue was illegal but added that “generally, a defendant is not entitled to credit for time spent released on his own recognizance prior to entering prison”).

This Court adopted that interpretation of “in custody” under § 3568 in Hatterman v. United States of America, Docket No. 88-1323 (C.D.Ill. Jan. 5, 1989), finding that Mr. Hatterman’s reliance upon Hensley v. Municipal Court, 411 U.S. 345, 93 S.Ct. 1571, 36 L.Ed.2d 294 (1973), and other cases interpreting the “in custody” requirement of habeas corpus statutes was misplaced. The Supreme Court in Hensley held only that a person released on personal recognizance is in custody for purposes of habeas corpus proceedings. Id. at 349, 93 S.Ct. at 1573-74. This holding was never extended to § 3568. E.g., Cerella v. Hanberry, 650 F.2d 606, 607 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1034, 102 S.Ct. 573, 70 L.Ed.2d 478 (1981); Ortega v. United States, 510 F.2d at 413;

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Bell v. Wolfish
441 U.S. 520 (Supreme Court, 1979)
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376 F.2d 615 (Eighth Circuit, 1967)
Melvin C. Holt v. United States
422 F.2d 822 (Seventh Circuit, 1970)
David Siegel v. United States
436 F.2d 92 (Second Circuit, 1970)
William Eugene Swift v. United States
436 F.2d 390 (Eighth Circuit, 1971)
Joseph Sica v. United States
454 F.2d 281 (Ninth Circuit, 1971)
Ruben Ortega v. United States
510 F.2d 412 (Tenth Circuit, 1975)
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510 F.2d 669 (D.C. Circuit, 1975)
United States v. Ruben Morales Robles
563 F.2d 1308 (Ninth Circuit, 1977)
John Joseph Cerrella v. Jack Hanberry, Warden
650 F.2d 606 (Fifth Circuit, 1981)
United States v. Raul Casiano Figueroa
828 F.2d 70 (First Circuit, 1987)
Bell v. District of Columbia Department of Corrections
403 A.2d 330 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1979)
United States v. Peterson
507 F.2d 1191 (D.C. Circuit, 1974)
Polakoff v. United States
489 F.2d 727 (Fifth Circuit, 1974)
United States v. Golden
795 F.2d 19 (Third Circuit, 1986)
Droback v. United States
421 U.S. 964 (W.D. Pennsylvania, 1975)

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Bluebook (online)
740 F. Supp. 549, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8857, 1990 WL 97815, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-beavers-ilcd-1990.