Alani v. Copenhaven

Filing 11

TRANSFER ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder on 1/8/14. Case Transferred to District of Arizona. (Verduzco, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MARTIN SANCHEZ ALANIS,

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Petitioner,

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Case No. 1:13-CV-1870-SMS
TRANSFER ORDER

v.
COPENHAVEN, Warden,

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Respondent.

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Petitioner is a federal prisoner sentenced to a 108 month prison term for illegal reentry in

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violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(2). On October 25, 2013, Petitioner filed the instant

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petition for writ of habeas corpus in propria persona pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Doc. 1.
FACTS

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As of October 10, 2012, Petitioner was housed at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI)

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at Yazoo City, Mississippi. On that date he appeared at a disciplinary hearing held before a

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Discipline Hearing Officer (“DHO”). Exhibits A, B, C, D; see 28 C.F.R. § 541.8 (hearing

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procedures). According to DHO reports prepared on November 30, 2012, Petitioner admitted to

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four charges regarding events occurring on June 30, 2012 (attempted assault), July 4, 2012 (two

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counts of assault), and August 20, 2012 (damaging a life safety device), all occurring at FCI Yazoo

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City. Id.

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Under BOP regulations, each of these offenses was considered a “high severity level

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offense.” 28 C.F.R. § 541.3; cf. § 541.4(b)(2) (mandatory penalty for individuals sentenced under

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the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)); § 541.3 (maximum possible penalty); § 541.8 (g). For
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each of these four charges, the DHO’s chosen sanction included “Disallowance Good Conduct

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Time: 27 Days.” Petitioner appealed the sentence administratively, arguing (then and now) that it is

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not lawful to deprive a prisoner of non-vested good credit time. Cf. Brown v. McGrew, 2013 WL

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6512948 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2013) (discussing good time credit under PLRA); Rosa v. Grondolsky,

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2013 WL 3491077 (D. Mass. July 9, 2013) (same).

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Relevant regulations governing administrative appeals appear at 28 C.F.R. §§ 542.13-18;

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see also Sejour v. Sanders, 2012 WL 1247185 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 18, 2012) (discussing exhaustion

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requirement). Each report indicated that Respondent was “advised of his right to appeal this action

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within 20 calendar days under the Administrative Remedy Procedure,” and adds that “a copy of this

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report has been given to the inmate.” Id. The reports indicate that they were “Delivered to Inmate”

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on December 7, 2012. Id. From the attached exhibits, it appears that Plaintiff submitted a Regional

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Administrative Remedy Appeal on February 15, 2013. This was rejected by the Regional Director

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on March 7, 2013, though not as untimely, with guidance that further appeal could be obtained

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within 30 days from the Office of General Counsel, the highest level of administrative appeal.

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Petitioner did not file this appeal until May 23, 2013. Addressing his untimeliness, Petitioner stated

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that he did not receive the Regional Director’s response until March 19, 2013; that on March 20,

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2013 he was then transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary (“USP”) in Atwater, California; and that he

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did not receive his legal papers until May 14, 2013. Doc. 1-1 at 30.

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On June 5, 2013, these appeals were rejected. The reason given was, “Your appeal is

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untimely.” Exhibit I (doc. 1-1 at 20). It also said, “Provide staff verification stating reason untimely

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filing was not your fault.” Petitioner did not do so. See 28 C.F.R. § 542.17.

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On or about October 3, 2013, Petitioner was transferred to the USP in Tucson, Arizona.

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Doc. 10. On October 25, 2013 he filed this petition in the District Court for the District of

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Columbia, naming as defendant the warden at USP Atwater. Addressing the untimeliness issue, he

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attached a property sheet which, he claims, shows that he did not receive his property until May 16,

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2013. The property sheet bears a handwritten notation, “Issued [illegible] 5/16/13 /s/ Garza.” It also

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apparently bears the signature of Petitioner indicating that his property was returned to him on

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April 30, 2013. On October 25, 2013, the D.C. District Court ordered the case transferred to this

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District.
DISCUSSION

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Jurisdiction Over the Person
Title 28 U.S.C. § 2241(a) provides that writs of habeas corpus may be granted by the district

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courts “within their respective jurisdictions.” A writ of habeas corpus operates not upon the

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prisoner, but upon the prisoner's custodian. Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit Court of Kentucky, 410

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U.S. 484, 494–495, 93 S.Ct. 1123, 35 L.Ed.2d 443 (1973). A petitioner filing a petition for writ of

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habeas corpus under § 2241 must file the petition in the judicial district of the Petitioner's

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custodian. Brown v. United States, 610 F.2d 672, 677 (9th Cir.1990). The warden of the

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penitentiary where a prisoner is confined constitutes the custodian who must be named in the

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petition, and the petition must be filed in the district of confinement. Id.; Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542

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U.S. 426, 446–47, 124 S.Ct. 2711, 159 L.Ed.2d 513 (2004). A failure to name and serve the

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custodian deprives the Court of personal jurisdiction. Johnson v. Reilly, 349 F.3d 1149, 1153 (9th

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Cir.2003).

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The D.C. District Court transferred Petitioner’s case to this District on the grounds that he

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was incarcerated at USP Atwater. However, the petition indicates that when Petitioner filed the

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case, he was a prisoner at USP Tucson. This case is therefore transferred to the District of Arizona,

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at which point the warden of USP Tucson may be substituted as the proper defendant pursuant to

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FRCP 25(d).

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ORDER

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Accordingly, the Clerk of the Court is HEREBY DIRECTED transfer this case to the

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United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

January 8, 2014

/s/ Sandra M. Snyder
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

DEAC_Signature-END:

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