Matamoros v. Grams

• Decision Date: 29 January 2013
• Docket Number: No. 12–2045.,12–2045.
• Citation: 706 F.3d 783
• Parties: Jose MATAMOROS, Petitioner–Appellant, v. Gregory GRAMS, Warden, Respondent–Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

706 F.3d 783

Jose MATAMOROS, Petitioner–Appellant,

v.Gregory GRAMS, Warden, Respondent–Appellee.

No. 12–2045.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued Oct. 30, 2012.

Decided Jan. 29, 2013.

Julie K. Linnen (argued), Kelly A. Welsh, Attorneys, Federal Defender Services, Madison, WI, for Petitioner–Appellant.

Jonathan H. Koenig (argued), Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Milwaukee, WI, for Respondent–Appellee.

Before BAUER, FLAUM, and WOOD, Circuit Judges.

BAUER, Circuit Judge.

In 1983, Jose Matamoros was sentenced to ten years in prison, with a three-year special parole term to follow. When the ordinary parole term for his prison sentence finally expired in 2005, Matamoros' parole officer wrote him a letter and issued a Notice of Discharge which explained that Matamoros' parole term had expired and that he was no longer subject to supervision by the U.S. Parole Commission. Neither the Commission nor Matamoros' parole officer noticed that Matamoros still had the special parole term left to serve until roughly one month later, when the Commission issued a Certificate of Special Parole, nunc pro tunc. About six hours after the Commission issued the Certificate and a month after Matamoros received the Notice of Discharge, Matamoros participated in an armed robbery, for which he was later sentenced to jail. (Matamoros remains incarcerated in a Wisconsin state prison as a result of the conviction and sentence.) Because Matamoros was subject to the special parole term when he committed the robbery, the Commission issued a warrant for Matamoros' arrest for violating the conditions of his special parole term release. The arrest warrant was later lodged as a detainer, and that detainer remains in effect today.

Matamoros petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, challenging the legality of the special parole term imposition, the subsequent lodging of the detainer, and the Commission's delayed dispositional review of the detainer. Matamoros also argued that the government should be estopped from enforcing the detainer because he was mistakenly told he was no longer subject to the Commission's supervision. The district court rejected all of Matamoros' arguments, and he appealed. We agree with the district court's conclusions and affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A brief description of ordinary parole and special parole is necessary to understand the issues in this case. Before the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 abolished parole in federal cases, ordinary parole was the supervised release of a prisoner before he had completed his entire prison sentence. See United States v. Fazzini, 414 F.3d 695, 699 (7th Cir.2005). The “parolee” was released from federal custody for good behavior and served the remainder of his prescribed prison sentence while out on parole, provided he abided by all the conditions of his release. See18 U.S.C. §§ 4161 et seq. (1982) (repealed by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98–473, 98 Stat. 2027, but remaining in effect for those sentenced prior to the Act). Special parole, on the other hand, was a “short-lived instrument of federal justice” that was statutorily required to be included in the sentence for certain defendants; it has since been replaced with “supervised release.” Evans v. U.S. Parole Comm'n, 78 F.3d 262, 264 (7th Cir.1996); see28 C.F.R. § 2.57. Courts have described special parole as being entirely different from and in addition to ordinary parole, as it follows the completion of ordinary parole and subjects the defendant to reincarceration during the entire special parole term if its conditions are violated. See United States v. Bridges, 760 F.2d 151, 155 (7th Cir.1985).

Keeping that in mind, the foundation of this case can be traced to 1982 when Matamoros first entered the federal criminal justice system. That year, he was indicted and convicted on two counts of criminal drug activity involving cocaine hydrochloride for conduct violating 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) and 846, and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (1982). On January 12, 1983, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana sentenced Matamoros to two consecutive five-year terms of imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of “special parole.”

What followed was a long, complicated series of events; most of which have no direct bearing on the issues before us today.¹ In short, a pattern of events would be repeated in which Matamoros would be released from prison on ordinary parole, violate the conditions of his parole, and then be taken back into custody and incarcerated. Violations included being a felon in possession of a firearm and a dangerous weapon, as well as possession of illegal substances. This cycle repeated numerous times until August 3, 2005, when Matamoros' ordinary parole term from the two consecutive five-year prison terms finally expired—over twenty years later.

On August 3, 2005, Matamoros' parole officer, Daniel Savasta, prepared a letter to Matamoros titled “Parole Termination.” In the letter, Savasta said that Matamoros' federal parole supervision term expired on August 3, 2005. He also asked Matamoros to complete an exit survey and told him, “Congratulations and good luck!” Savasta similarly prepared a document titled “Notice of Discharge,” which he signed and dated on August 4, 2005. In the Notice of Discharge he wrote, “Inasmuch as you have completed the terms and conditions of your parole on the date shown above, you are hereby discharged from supervision of this office.” ²

In accordance with Matamoros' original sentence on January 12, 1983, Matamoros was to be placed on special parole for three years following his ten-year prison term. This additional requirement, however, was somehow missed by both Savasta and the Commission. At the time, no one communicated to Matamoros that he was still subject to special parole even though his ordinary parole term had expired. Savasta explained his oversight in an affidavit to the district court:

The special parole term had escaped my attention (and that of the Commission) earlier. I believe this is because, while special parole is clearly referenced in the 1983 judgment of conviction in CR82–356–I, it is not mentioned in the more recent documents in Matamoros's file. I relied upon these more recent documents when drafting my letter of August 3, 2005.

The Commission became aware of the mistake a short time later. On September 9, 2005, the Commission issued a document titled “Certificate of Special Parole, nunc pro tunc.” ³ The relevant portion of the document provides:

It having been made to appear to the United States Parole Commission that Matamoros, Jose, Register No. 17373–034, is subject to a special parole term commencing August 4, 2005, in accordance with the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801, et seq. with a total of 3 years to be served. Upon release, the above-named person is to remain under the jurisdiction of the United States Parole Commission and will be under the conditions set forth on the attached Conditions of Release form until midnight August 3, 2008, and that said releasee is to remain within the limits of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

A notation at the bottom states, “Queued: 09–09–2005 14:34:38 USPO–Eastern Districtof Wisconsin BOP–Oklahoma FTC.” This notation indicates the date and time of issuance, and the probation office and bureau of prisons involved.

The record indicates that Savasta placed a call to the Commission at 2:37 p.m., almost immediately after the Certificate of Special Parole was issued. A case analyst at the Commission, Lynne E. Jenkins, wrote the following report:

USPO called and left message inquiring if there is a SPT in this case.

I reviewed file and determined there was a 3 yr SPT for this case. It does appear to be associated with the 841 conviction, not the 846, conspiracy.

Prepared and faxed SPT cert, began 8–4–05, ends 8–3–08.

Although no information in the record supports his assertion, Savasta stated in his affidavit that he also called Matamoros and informed him about the additional special parole term:

[W]hile my log of contacts with Matamoros does not reflect this, I distinctly recall speaking with Matamoros by telephone (at a cellular telephone number provided on his business card) during business hours on September 9, 2005 to inform him of the special parole term and to request that he come in to the office. He acknowledged understanding that he was subject to a special parole term.

Matamoros contends he never received a phone call from Savasta informing him of the special parole term.

The importance of the special parole term comes to light as a result of the events that transpired later that night. At approximately 9:00 p.m. on September 9, 2005, Matamoros participated in an armed robbery. Officers of the Milwaukee Police Department responding to the crime arrested Matamoros on the scene. Matamoros was in possession of the victims' jewelry and cash and, at some point, confessed his involvement to the police.

The Commission became aware of Matamoros' September 9, 2005 conduct, and on September 19, 2005, issued a warrant for Matamoros' arrest for violating the conditions of his special parole term release.⁴

On April 24, 2006, a jury convicted Matamoros on four separate felony counts for his conduct on September 9, 2005: armed robbery, false imprisonment, and two counts of substantial battery-intended bodily harm. Matamoros received a fifteen-year prison sentence, to be followed by five years of extended supervision. He was sent to the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin, where he remains today.

On October 5, 2006, the U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Wisconsin issued a detainer based on the federal parole violation warrant issued on September 19, 2005. The purpose of the detainer is to make sure the U.S. Marshal is notified when Matamoros is discharged from...