Moreland v. Federal Bureau of Prisons

• Decision Date: 10 November 2005
• Docket Number: No. 05-20347.,05-20347.
• Citation: 431 F.3d 180
• Parties: Ellen Jeanette MORELAND, Petitioner-Appellee, v. The FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS; Harley G. Lappin, Director, Bureau of Prisons; Joyce Francis, Warden, Federal Prison Camp—Bryan, Respondents-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 180

431 F.3d 180

Ellen Jeanette MORELAND, Petitioner-Appellee, v. The FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS; Harley G. Lappin, Director, Bureau of Prisons; Joyce Francis, Warden, Federal Prison Camp—Bryan, Respondents-Appellants.

No. 05-20347.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

November 10, 2005.

Brent Evan Newton, Asst. Fed. Pub. Def. (argued), Houston, TX, for Moreland.

James Lee Turner, Asst. U.S. Atty. (argued), Houston, TX, for Respondents-Appellants.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before BENAVIDES, STEWART and OWEN, Circuit Judges.

OWEN, Circuit Judge.

In this habeas corpus proceeding, we must determine whether a federal statute governing credit for good conduct unambiguously directs how that credit is to be calculated and applied.¹ Because we conclude the statute is unambiguous, we do not address whether the rule of lenity applies or whether the Federal Bureau of Prisons' interpretation of the statute must be accorded deference under Chevron, U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.² and its progeny. The Bureau of Prisons correctly determined the good-conduct credits in this case. Therefore, we reverse the district court's grant of habeas relief and deny the petition for writ of habeas corpus.

I

Ellen Jeanette Moreland was convicted in a federal district court in Wisconsin of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. She was sentenced to 210 months (17.5 years) imprisonment and five years of supervised release. Moreland had served 157 days in pretrial detention before she was transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons' custody on January 25, 1991, and absent any good-conduct credit, Moreland's sentence would have been completed on February 18, 2008.

The Bureau determined that during each year of her imprisonment, Moreland "displayed exemplary compliance with institutional disciplinary regulations"³ and thus far had earned the maximum amount of good-conduct credit permitted under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b). At issue is the maximum credit she may receive. Section 3624(b)(1) provides:

[A] prisoner who is serving a term of imprisonment of more than 1 year[,] other than a term of imprisonment for the duration of the prisoner's life, may receive credit toward the service of the prisoner's sentence, beyond the time served, of up to 54 days at the end of each year of the prisoner's term of imprisonment, beginning at the end of the first year of the term, subject to determination by the Bureau of Prisons that, during that year, the prisoner has displayed exemplary compliance with institutional disciplinary regulations. Subject to paragraph (2), if the Bureau determines that, during that year, the prisoner has not satisfactorily complied with such institutional regulations, the prisoner shall receive no such credit toward service of the prisoner's sentence or shall receive such lesser credit as the Bureau determines to be appropriate.... [C]redit for the last year or portion of a year of the term of imprisonment shall be prorated and credited within the last six weeks of the sentence.⁴

The Bureau calculated Moreland's credit by deducting 54 days from her sentence at the end of each year she served. By the time Moreland had served fifteen years, less than one year of her sentence remained. The Bureau then prorated Moreland's good-conduct credit for the remainder of her sentence and projected her release date as November 17, 2005, based on 823 days of good-conduct credit, assuming continued exemplary behavior.

Moreland filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, contending that the Bureau had improperly calculated her good-conduct credits. Moreland asserted that she is entitled to 54 days of good-conduct credit for each year or partial year of her 17.5-year sentence, a total of 945 days of credit (54 days × 17.5 years = 945 days). She argued that at the end of her first year in prison 54 days should have been deducted from the 365 days she served, so that her first year of imprisonment would have ended on day 311. The second year of her sentence would have ended on day 622, the third year on day 933, and so on, such that her release date would have been July 18, 2005.

The district court agreed with Moreland and directed the Bureau to "calculate her Good Conduct Time under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b)(1) so that, for each year of the sentence imposed, she serves 311 days of actual time and earns 54 days of credit that vests immediately." The Bureau complied. It subsequently transferred Moreland from the Federal Prison Camp — Bryan, Texas where she had been confined, to the Chicago Community Confinement Center for the remainder of her sentence, in order to comply with 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c), which requires the Bureau to "assure that a prisoner serving a term of imprisonment spends a reasonable part, not to exceed six months, of the last 10 per centum of the term to be served under conditions that will afford the prisoner a reasonable opportunity to adjust to and prepare for the prisoner's re-entry into the community."⁵ On July 18, 2005, Moreland commenced serving her five-year term of supervised release. The Bureau asserts that if the grant of habeas relief is reversed, Moreland will be returned to community confinement to serve the duration of her term of imprisonment.

II

As a preliminary matter, Moreland contends that the Bureau and the director of the Bureau were not her immediate custodians when she sought habeas relief, and although she named them as parties, they must be dismissed from the case. That would leave the warden of the Bryan facility as the only proper party, Moreland asserts, and since that warden no longer has custody over her because she was transferred to Illinois, Moreland argues that this case must be dismissed. We disagree.

Moreland filed her petition for writ of habeas corpus in the district in which she was confined as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d) and named as a respondent the warden of the facility in which she was confined.⁶ The "`in custody' determination is made at the time the habeas petition is filed."⁷ The district court had jurisdiction to act on Moreland's petition when it rendered judgment, and we have jurisdiction over the appeal from that judgment. The issue before us is whether habeas relief should have been granted. If it was improperly granted, the Bureau may re-imprison Moreland, regardless of whether it should have been named as a party in this proceeding.

Moreover, whether the Bureau and the director of the Bureau should have been joined as parties raises questions of personal jurisdiction, not subject-matter jurisdiction.⁸ Moreland named these governmental entities as respondents in the district court and did not challenge the propriety of her own actions until this appeal. Neither the Bureau nor the director question the court's jurisdiction over them, and the district court's final judgment explicitly directs the Bureau to calculate Moreland's good-conduct credit in a particular manner. The Bureau appeals from that judgment, and Moreland has waived any contention that she should not have joined, or obtained a judgment against, the Bureau.

Finally, Moreland contends that this case is moot since she has been released from prison. As noted above, the Bureau intends to return Moreland to community confinement to serve the remainder of her term if it prevails in this appeal. Therefore, the case is not moot.⁹

III

Moreland contends and the district court held that a prisoner may earn up to 54 days of credit for each year or partial year of the sentence imposed. As discussed above, the district court multiplied Moreland's 17.5-year sentence by 54 days and ordered that she be given 945 days of credit, directing that each year of her sentence be reduced to 311 days.

The starting point of our analysis is the statute itself:

(a) Date of release.—A prisoner shall be released by the Bureau of Prisons on the date of the expiration of the prisoner's term of imprisonment, less any time credited toward the service of the prisoner's sentence as provided in subsection (b) ....

(b) Credit toward service of sentence for satisfactory behavior.—

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a prisoner who is serving a term of imprisonment of more than 1 year[,] other than a term of imprisonment for the duration of the prisoner's life, may receive credit toward the service of the prisoner's sentence, beyond the time served, of up to 54 days at the end of each year of the prisoner's term of imprisonment, beginning at the end of the first year of the term, subject to determination by the Bureau of Prisons that, during that year, the prisoner has displayed exemplary compliance with institutional disciplinary regulations. Subject to paragraph (2), if the Bureau determines that, during that year, the prisoner has not satisfactorily complied with such institutional regulations, the prisoner shall receive no such credit toward service of the prisoner's sentence or shall receive such lesser credit as the Bureau determines to be appropriate.... Credit that has not been earned may not later be granted. Subject to paragraph (2), credit for the last year or portion of a year of the term of imprisonment shall be prorated and credited within the last six weeks of the sentence.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law, credit awarded under this subsection after the date of enactment of the Prison Litigation Reform Act shall vest on the date the prisoner is released from custody.

* * *

(c) Pre-release custody.—The Bureau of Prisons shall, to the extent practicable, assure that a prisoner serving a term of imprisonment spends a reasonable part, not to exceed six months, of the last 10 per centum of the term to be served under conditions that will afford the prisoner a reasonable opportunity to adjust to and prepare for the prisoner's re-entry into the community....

(d) Allotment of...