Young v. Quintana

Filing 3

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER:1. Young's petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 1 is DENIED without prejudice. That said, Young may still file a civil rights complaint regarding this matter. 2. This action is DISMISSED and STRICKEN from the Court's docket. 3. A corresponding judgment will be entered this date. Signed by Judge Joseph M. Hood on 1/10/2018.(STC)cc: Petitioner

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
CENTRAL DIVISION at LEXINGTON
TERRY B. YOUNG,
Petitioner,
v.
FRANCISCO QUINTANA, Warden,
Respondent.

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Civil No. 17-248-JMH

MEMORANDUM OPINION
AND ORDER

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Terry B. Young is a prisoner at the Federal Medical Center in
Lexington, Kentucky.

Proceeding without a lawyer, Young filed a

petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241.
[R. 1].

For the reasons set forth below, the Court will deny

Young’s petition without prejudice.
Pursuant to federal law, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has
established a classification system in order to determine where
inmates will be confined.

See U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Fed. Bureau

of Prisons, Program Statement P5100.08:

Inmate Sec. Designation

& Custody Classification 1 (2006), at https://www.bop.gov/policy/
progstat/5100_008.pdf.

As part of that system, the BOP may assign

Public Safety Factors (PSFs) to inmates who are not appropriate
for placement at an institution which would permit that inmate
access to the community (i.e., a minimum security prison). See id.
at 13, 48-52 (discussing PSFs).

According to Young, the BOP assigned him a PSF known as
“Greatest Severity.”

Young asked the BOP to waive that PSF so he

could be transferred to a minimum security prison, but the BOP
denied his request.

Young now argues, among other things, that

the BOP denied his request because he is African-American and,
therefore, it discriminated against him in violation of the U.S.
Constitution and other federal law.
Young’s claims, however, are not cognizable under § 2241.
That is because “[i]t is well established that challenges to a
prisoner’s classification or place of confinement . . . are
‘conditions of confinement’ claims which may only be asserted in
a civil rights action.”

Owen v. Sepanek, No. 14-cv-158-HRW, 2014

WL 6610169, at *3 (E.D. Ky. 2014) (collecting cases).

This

includes claims of discrimination in a prisoner’s classification.
Id. at *6.

Thus, if Young would like to challenge the BOP’s

actions regarding his PSF, he must file a formal civil rights
complaint with this Court pursuant to the doctrine announced in
Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971).
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:
1. Young’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 2241 [R. 1] is DENIED without prejudice.
said,

Young

may

still

file

regarding this matter.

2

a

civil

rights

That

complaint

2. This action is DISMISSED and STRICKEN from the Court’s
docket.
3. A corresponding judgment will be entered this date.
This 10th day of January, 2018.

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