(HC) Coats v. Barr
Filing
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ORDER Directing Clerk of Court to Assign District Judge; FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS recommending that the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus #1 be DISMISSED Without Prejudice for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 2/18/2021. Referred to Unassigned DJ. Objections to F&R due within twenty-one (21) days. (Jessen, A)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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KODA ALSHAWN COATS,
Petitioner,
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v.
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WILLIAM BARR,
Respondent.
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Case No.: 1:21-cv-00182-JLT (HC)
ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO
ASSIGN DISTRICT JUDGE
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION TO
DISMISS PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS
CORPUS
[TWENTY-ONE DAY OBJECTION DEADLINE]
On February 16, 2021, Petitioner filed the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to
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28 U.S.C. § 2241. (Doc. 1.) Petitioner is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons at the United States
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Penitentiary in Atwater, California. Petitioner challenges the computation of his federal sentence by
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the BOP and claims his release date is incorrect. The petition is unexhausted. Therefore, the Court will
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recommend the petition be DISMISSED without prejudice.
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DISCUSSION
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I.
Exhaustion
Before filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus, a federal prisoner challenging any
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circumstance of imprisonment must first exhaust all administrative remedies. Martinez v. Roberts, 804
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F.2d 570, 571 (9th Cir. 1986); Chua Han Mow v. United States, 730 F.2d 1308, 1313 (9th Cir. 1984);
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Ruviwat v. Smith, 701 F.2d 844, 845 (9th Cir. 1983). The requirement that federal prisoners exhaust
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administrative remedies before filing a habeas corpus petition was judicially created; it is not a
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statutory requirement. Brown v. Rison, 895 F.2d 533, 535 (9th Cir. 1990). Thus, “because exhaustion
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is not required by statute, it is not jurisdictional.” Id. If Petitioner has not properly exhausted his
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claims, the district court, in its discretion, may either “excuse the faulty exhaustion and reach the
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merits or require the petitioner to exhaust his administrative remedies before proceeding in court.”
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The first step in seeking administrative remedies is a request for informal resolution. 28 C.F.R.
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§ 542.13. When informal resolution procedures fail to achieve sufficient results, the BOP makes
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available to inmates a formal three-level administrative remedy process: (1) a Request for
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Administrative Remedy (“BP-9”) filed at the institution where the inmate is incarcerated; (2) a
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Regional Administrative Remedy Appeal (“BP-10”) filed at the Regional Office for the geographic
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region in which the inmate’s institution is located; and (3) a Central Office Administrative Remedy
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Appeal (“BP-11”) filed with the Office of General Counsel. 28 C.F.R. § 542.10 et seq.
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According to the petition and attached exhibits, Petitioner submitted a BP-9 “Request for
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Administrative Remedy” on December 9, 2020, which was denied on December 23, 2020. (See Doc. 1
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at 9.) It appears Petitioner has not sought further relief by filing a BP-10 “Regional Administrative
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Remedy Appeal or a BP-11 “Central Office Administrative Remedy Appeal.” Therefore, the claims
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have not been administratively exhausted.
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Although the exhaustion requirement is subject to waiver in § 2241 cases “it is not lightly to be
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disregarded.” Murillo v. Mathews, 588 F.2d 759, 762, n.8 (9th Cir. 1978) (citation omitted). A “key
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consideration” in exercising such discretion is whether “relaxation of the requirement would
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encourage the deliberate bypass of the administrative scheme[.]” Laing v. Ashcroft, 370 F.3d 994,
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1000 (9th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation marks omitted). In this case, it is clear that Petitioner has
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deliberately bypassed the administrative review process. Such action should not be condoned. The
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Court finds the petition should be dismissed for lack of exhaustion.
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RECOMMENDATION
Accordingly, the Court RECOMMENDS that the petition for writ of habeas corpus be
DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
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This Findings and Recommendation is submitted to the United States District Court Judge
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assigned to this case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(B) and Rule 304 of the
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Local Rules of Practice for the United States District Court, Eastern District of California. Within
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twenty-one days after being served with a copy, Petitioner may file written objections with the Court.
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Such a document should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and
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Recommendation.” The Court will then review the Magistrate Judge’s ruling pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
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636 (b)(1)(C). Petitioner is advised that failure to file objections within the specified time may waive
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the right to appeal the Order of the District Court. Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
February 18, 2021
/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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