HUNT v. CASTRO et al

Filing 21

ORDER adopting 19 Report and Recommendation. This case is DISMISSED for failure to exhaust BOP and IAD administrative remedies and based on Younger abstention. The Clerk shall enter judgement in accordance with this Order and close the case file. Signed by JUDGE T KENT WETHERELL II on 3/7/2025. (jcw)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
PANAMA CITY DIVISION

DERRICK MARTIN HUNT,
Petitioner,
v.

Case No. 5:23cv320/TKW/MAL

WARDEN, FCI MARIANNA,
Respondent.
_________________________________/

ORDER
This case is before the Court based on the magistrate judge’s Report and
Recommendation (R&R) (Doc. 19). Petitioner did not file an “objection” to the
R&R, but he did file a document asserting that “[t]he issue is not moot because I am
filing the remedy process as you order on February 13, 2025.” See Doc. 20. The
Court reviewed the issue raised in that filing and its attachment de novo as if it was
an objection to the R&R. See 28 U.S.C. §636(b)(1); Fla. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3).
Based on that review, the Court agrees with the magistrate judge’s
determination that Petitioner’s habeas petition should be dismissed for three
independent reasons: (1) failure to exhaust administrative remedies with the Bureau
of Prisons (BOP); (2) failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Interstate
Agreement on Detainers (IAD); and (3) based on Younger abstention. The Court
did not overlook the “Attempt at Informal Resolution (Request for Administrative

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Remedy)” document attached to Petitioner’s post-R&R filing (Doc. 20 at 2), but that
document merely shows that Petitioner initiated the BOP administrative remedy
process after the R&R was issued—not that he exhausted that process before he filed
suit as required. Moreover, even if that document was somehow sufficient to
overcome the failure to exhaust the BOP administrative remedy process, it would
not change the outcome of this case because dismissal would still be warranted for
failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the IAD and based on Younger
abstention.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that:
1. The R&R is adopted and incorporated by reference in this Order.
2. This case is DISMISSED for failure to exhaust BOP and IAD
administrative remedies and based on Younger abstention.
3. The Clerk shall enter judgement in accordance with this Order and close
the case file.
DONE AND ORDERED this 7th day of March, 2025.

__________________________________
T. KENT WETHERELL, II
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE