Albers v. Ralston

• Citation: 665 F.2d 812
• Decision Date: 03 December 1981
• Docket Number: Nos. 81-1296,s. 81-1296
• Parties: Marvin N. ALBERS, Appellee, v. George A. RALSTON, Jr., Warden, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Appellant. Joseph L. BURNETT, Appellee, v. George A. RALSTON, Jr., Warden, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Appellant. William John POLITTE, Appellee, v. George A. RALSTON, Jr., Warden, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Appellant. to 81-1298.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 812

665 F.2d 812

Marvin N. ALBERS, Appellee, v. George A. RALSTON, Jr., Warden, United States Medical Center

for Federal Prisoners, Appellant.

Joseph L. BURNETT, Appellee, v. George A. RALSTON, Jr., Warden, United States Medical Center

for Federal Prisoners, Appellant.

William John POLITTE, Appellee, v. George A. RALSTON, Jr., Warden, United States Medical Center

for Federal Prisoners, Appellant.

Nos. 81-1296 to 81-1298.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Sept. 14, 1981.

Decided Dec. 3, 1981.

William Burlington, argued, Atty. Advisor, U. S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Mo., U. S. Bureau of Prisons.

Ray Conrad, Federal Public Defender, W. D. Mo., R. Steven Brown, argued, Asst. Federal Public Defender, Springfield, Mo., for appellee Albers.

J. Whitfield Moody, U. S. Atty., Frederick O. Griffin, argued, Robert G. Ulrich, Asst. U. S. Attys., Springfield, Mo., for appellant.

William J. Politte, pro se.

Donald R. Cooley, Springfield, Mo., for appellee Burnett.

Before BRIGHT, HENLEY, and ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge.

Three prisoners, Marvin N. Albers, Joseph L. Burnett, and William John Politte, in separate habeas corpus petitions, complain that George A. Ralston, Warden of the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri, (Warden), adversely affected their conditions of confinement by refusing to follow the Bureau of Prisons regulations in classifying them. Specifically, the prisoners contend they did not receive on the security scoring portion of their custody classification forms a six-point credit for voluntary surrender to federal authorities. As a result, they argue that their conditions of confinement are more restrictive than called for by the regulations. The district court ordered the Warden to grant them the six-point credit.

On appeal, the Warden contends that the district court inappropriately awarded habeas corpus relief, inasmuch as the order directing him to give the prisoners the six-point credit infringes upon the Bureau of Prisons' broad discretion in the administration of prison affairs. Under the circumstances of this case, we agree with the Warden and, accordingly, reverse.

I. Background.

The Bureau of Prisons assigns each prisoner a security and a custody classification. ¹ The security designation affects the prisoner's assignment to a particular institution or to a particular portion of a multi-security level institution. The prisoner's custody classification determines his freedom within the institution.

To account for the lower security risk, the regulations in effect at the time of these prisoner classifications provided a six-point credit for prisoners who voluntarily surrendered to begin their terms of incarceration. For the security form, the regulation authorized a six-point credit "to an individual who is not escorted by a law enforcement official to the Marshal's office or to (the) place of confinement and who is not under bond or financial obligation to insure commitment." U. S. Dep't of Justice, Federal Prison System Program Statement No. 5100.1, § 9, at p. 10 (February 14, 1979) (emphasis added). The regulation for the custody classification form, however, did not mention freedom from bond or financial obligation, but simply authorized a six-point credit for voluntary surrender "to an individual who is not escorted by a law enforcement official to the Marshal's office or to (the) place of confinement." Id. § 11, at p. 9.

Each of the prisoners in this case surrendered voluntarily but did not receive the six-point credit on the custody classification form. Even though the Bureau of Prisons directive on custody classification did not expressly require freedom from bond or financial obligation, ² the Bureau refused the six-point credit because each prisoner was subject to bond or financial obligation to insure his commitment at the time of his surrender. Objecting to that ruling, each prisoner brought a petition for a writ of habeas corpus against the Warden.

II. Proceedings in the District Court.

Upon receipt of the habeas corpus petition, the district court referred these cases to the United States Magistrate for review. The magistrate issued an order directing the Warden to show cause why the petitions for habeas corpus should not be granted. The Warden filed affidavits indicating that each petitioner had appeared subject to financial obligation and based denial of the six-point credit on the Bureau of Prisons' July 14, 1980 clarification which disqualifies from "voluntary surrender" individuals under bond or financial obligation. In response to a later show cause order, the Warden stated by affidavit that each prisoner was classified prior to the July 14, 1980 clarification.

The United States Magistrate concluded that petitioners were entitled to the six-point credit because the custody classification definition of "voluntary surrender" did not expressly mention financial obligation and because the Warden failed to justify the application of a definition effective July 14, 1980, to classifications made in 1979. In support of his recommendation, the magistrate cited Burton v. Ciccone, 484 F.2d 1322, 1324 (8th Cir. 1973), stating that "when a regulation or Program Statement is adopted (by the Bureau of Prisons) it must be followed."

The Warden filed exceptions to the magistrate's recommendations, asserting that the Bureau of Prisons had consistently interpreted its policy to authorize the six-point credit only if the individual who surrendered was not under bond or other financial obligation. The district court consolidated the petitions and overruled respondent's exceptions, noting that the regulation in question said nothing regarding financial obligation or bond, and stating that the Bureau must follow its own rules and regulations. Accordingly, the court granted the petitions for writs of habeas corpus and directed the Warden to award petitioners six points on the security portion of the custody classification form. This appeal followed.

III. Discussion.

On appeal, the Warden concedes that the Bureau of Prisons regulation by its terms does not state that only individuals free of bond or other financial obligation qualify for the six-point credit. The Warden asserts, however, that failure to incorporate this requirement into the regulation resulted from an oversight that the July 14, 1980 Bureau of Prisons clarification rectified. The Warden further asserts that even prior to this clarification, the Bureau of Prisons had consistently awarded the six-point credit only to individuals free of financial obligation. In addition, the Warden argues that habeas corpus relief is inappropriate because petitioners have no constitutional interest in the classification system sufficient to invoke due process protection.

The prisoners maintain their entitlement to the six-point credit for voluntary surrender because the definition of that term for the custody classification form does not require freedom from financial obligation. They do not contend that the Bureau of Prisons' refusal to award them the six-point credit rises to the level of a constitutional violation, but assert that the Bureau of Prisons must follow its own regulations.

In substance, we read the prisoners' complaint as an attack on the conditions of their confinement. The prisoners do not assert that awarding them the six-point credit would entitle them to earlier release. Rather, they claim that the six-point credit would entitle them to less restrictive conditions of confinement. Federal prisoners, however, may not resort to habeas corpus petitions to challenge every condition of confinement. This court has previously determined that federal prisoners may seek writs of habeas corpus to challenge their conditions of confinement only if they allege "a substantial infringement of a constitutional right(.)" Willis v. Ciccone, 506 F.2d 1011, 1019 (8th Cir. 1974).

Relying on Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 96 S.Ct. 2532, 49 L.Ed.2d 451 (1976), the Warden contends that the prisoners have no constitutional entitlement to the six-point credit. In Meachum, the Supreme Court held that state prisoners had no right to a hearing before a transfer from one state prison to another, because the discretionary transfer system did not implicate a liberty interest. Id. at 226-27, 96 S.Ct. at 2539. Subsequently, the Supreme Court observed that a similar decision by federal prison officials did not involve constitutional concerns. In Moody v. Daggett, 429 U.S. 78, 97 S.Ct. 274, 50 L.Ed.2d 236 (1976), the Court stated:

In Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215 (96 S.Ct. 2532, 49 L.Ed.2d 451) (1976), for example, no due process protections were required upon the discretionary transfer of state prisoners to a substantially less agreeable prison, even where that transfer visited a "grievous loss" upon the inmate. The same is true of prisoner classification and eligibility for rehabilitative programs in the federal system. Congress has given federal prison officials full discretion to control these conditions of confinement, 18 U.S.C. § 4081, and petitioner has no legitimate statutory or constitutional entitlement sufficient to invoke due process. (Id. at 88 n.9, 97 S.Ct. at 279 n.9.)

The Court's decisions in Meachum and Moody, however, did not address situations in which a statute, rule, or regulation had created constitutionally cognizable liberty interests. See Vitek v. Jones, 445 U.S. 480, 489-90, 100 S.Ct. 1254, 1261-62, 63 L.Ed.2d 552 (1980) (state statute created liberty interest precluding arbitrary transfer of prisoners to mental institutions); Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex, 442 U.S. 1, 12, 99 S.Ct. 2100, 2106, 60 L.Ed.2d 668 (1979) (state statute created legitimate expectation of parole warranting due process protection); Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 557, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2975, 41...