Joost v. US Probation, Rhode Island et al

Filing 7

Chief Judge Patti B. Saris: MEMORANDUM AND ORDER entered denying Joost's request for habeas relief under Section 2241 and motion 5 for injunctive relief. The Clerk of Court is directed to send the petition and this Memorandum and Order to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island for filing in United States v. Joost, C.R. No. 94-055-ML (D.R.I. Sept. 8, 1995). The Clerk of Court is directed to close this case in this district. (PSSA, 4)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
ROBERT M. JOOST,
Petitioner,
v.

)
)
) Civ. Action No. 17-10448-PBS
)
US PROBATION, RHODE ISLAND, et al.
)
Respondents.
)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
March 24, 2017
SARIS, C.D.J.
Before the Court are Robert M. Joost’s pro se Petition for
Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and Motion for
Preliminary Injunction.

For the reasons stated herein, the Court

denies Joost relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, denies preliminary
injunctive relief, construes the petition as a motion to modify
conditions of release, and directs the Clerk to send it to the
sentencing court in Rhode Island for further proceedings.
BACKGROUND
On March 17, 2017, petitioner Robert M. Joost (“Joost”)
filed his self-prepared Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241.

Joost paid the $5 filing fee.

The

petition names as respondents the United States Bureau of
Prisons, Coolidge House, and the probation offices for both the
District of Rhode Island and the District of Massachusetts.
Joost is completing service of a federal sentence imposed in
the District of Rhode Island.

United States v. Joost, C.R. No.

94-055-ML (D.R.I. Sept. 8, 1995) (firearms conviction with
sentence of 360 months and 5 years supervised release); see also

United States v. Joost, C.R. No. 94-056-ML (D.R.I. Sept. 8, 1995)
(Hobbs Act conspiracy conviction for role in an armored car
robbery with 20 year sentence and 5 years supervised release both
to run concurrent with C.R. No. 94-055-ML).
On October 4, 2016, Joost was transferred from FMC Devens to
Coolidge House, a halfway house in Boston.

Joost states that his

supervised release is scheduled to begin upon his release from
Coolidge House on March 30, 2017.

Joost complains that upon his

release from Coolidge House, he will be required to report for
supervised release in the District of Rhode Island.

Joost seeks

to remain in Massachusetts and report to the District of
Massachusetts because he is employed in Massachusetts, has a son
in Massachusetts and is seeking benefits from the Massachusetts
Department of Veterans’ Services.

Moreover, Joost complains that

his stay at Coolidge House will be extended if he is unable to
secure his own housing by March 30, 2017.
On March 20, 2017, Joost filed a motion for preliminary
injunction seeking to enjoin his confinement at Coolidge House
after March 30, 2017, and to allow him to remain in Massachusetts
after March 30, 2017.

With his motion, Joost filed a supporting

memorandum.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, federal prisoners who are “in
custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of

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the United States,” may seek habeas corpus review. 28 U.S.C. §
2241(c)(3).

Fundamentally, a Section 2241 habeas proceeding “is

an attack by a person in custody upon the legality of that
custody, and ... the traditional function of the writ is to
secure release from illegal custody.”
U.S. 475, 484 (1973).

Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411

Thus, a traditional habeas petition

challenges the “fact or duration” of physical confinement and
seeks either immediate or speedier release from that confinement.
Id. at 498.

However, review under Section 2241 is also available

to a federal prisoner who challenges the manner, execution, or
conditions of a sentence. Muniz v. Sabol, 517 F.3d 29, 33–34 (1st
Cir. 2008).
DISCUSSION
The threshold question in this matter is whether this action
is properly filed pursuant to § 2241.

Here, as to the execution

of his sentence pursuant to a 28 U.S.C. § 2241, the sentencing
court in Rhode Island has the ability to modify the conditions of
his supervised release under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e).

See 18 U.S.C.

§ 3583(e)(2) (permits a district court to "modify, reduce, or
enlarge the conditions of supervised release, at any time prior
to the expiration or termination of the term of supervised
release, pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure relating to the modification of probation and
the provisions applicable to the initial setting of the terms and

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conditions of post-release supervision.").
lies with the sentencing court.

Thus, Joost’s remedy

Id.; see 18 U.S.C. § 3605

(authorizing a court to exercise jurisdiction over a person on
supervised release if such jurisdiction has been transferred by
the sentencing court).
This Court is without the power to modify the conditions of
Joost’s supervised release and the Court finds that it is in the
interest of justice to treat the petition as a motion pursuant to
18 U.S.C. § 3583(e) and forward it to the District of Rhode
Island for filing in United States v. Joost, C.R. No. 94-055-ML
(D.R.I. Sept. 8, 1995).
ORDER
ACCORDINGLY, it is hereby ORDERED
(1)

Joost’s requests for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. §
2241 and for emergency injunctive relief under Rule 65
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are DENIED.

(2)

The Clerk of Court is directed to send the petition and
this Memorandum and Order to the United States District
Court for the District of Rhode Island for filing in
United States v. Joost, C.R. No. 94-055-ML (D.R.I.
Sept. 8, 1995).

(3)

The Clerk of Court is directed to close this case in
this district.

SO ORDERED.
/s/ Patti B. Saris
PATTI B. SARIS
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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