Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-07-04206/USCOURTS-ca10-07-04206-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 

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*

This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the

doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited,

however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th

Cir. R. 32.1.

FILED

United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit

January 4, 2008

Elisabeth A. Shumaker

Clerk of Court

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

TENTH CIRCUIT

DAVID ALLAN SAUNDERS,

Petitioner - Appellant, No. 07-4206

v. (D. Utah)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Respondent - Appellee.

(D.C. No. 2:07-CV-659-TS)

ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

Before KELLY, ANDERSON, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined

unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination

of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is

therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.

Petitioner and appellant David Allan Saunders, proceeding pro se, appeals

the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition challenging the execution of his

sentence. We affirm.

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Saunders filed a pro se “Informal Brief.” The government did not file a

brief.

-2-

Saunders, an inmate in a federal correctional institution in Safford,

Arizona, filed a § 2241 petition in the federal district court in Utah, alleging that

his Fifth Amendment rights had been violated because his pretrial supervised

release/probation time was not credited towards his sentence. He accordingly

asked the district court to order the Federal Bureau of Prisons to adjust his “in

custody” date to reflect his pretrial supervised release time.

In a succinct two-page order, the district court denied Saunders’ petition,

finding that Saunders’ service of pretrial release time does not entitle him to the

requested credit. Saunders timely appealed.1

 We agree with the district court’s

analysis and conclusion.

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b), “[a] defendant shall be given credit

toward the service of a term of imprisonment for any time he has spent in official

detention prior to the date the sentence commences . . . as a result of the offense

for which the sentence was imposed.” We have held that “[f]or the purpose of

calculating credit for time served under 18 U.S.C. § 3585, ‘official detention’

means imprisonment in a place of confinement, not stipulations or conditions

imposed upon a person not subject to full physical incarceration.” United States

v. Woods, 888 F.2d 653, 655 (10th Cir. 1989). Thus, “[a]lthough a criminal

defendant is entitled credit under 18 U.S.C. § 3585 for time spent in detention

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Although he failed to make such a motion before the district court,

Saunders has filed a motion for leave to proceed before this court in forma

pauperis. We grant Saunders’ motion to proceed before our court in forma

pauperis.

-3-

prior to commencement of sentence, no such credit is allowed for time spent on

conditional release.” Id. We further observed that the “expansive definition of

custody” for purposes of 28 U.S.C. 2241 has no bearing on the definition of

detention under 18 U.S.C. § 3585.

Applying that standard to this case, it is clear that Saunders’ pretrial

supervised release/probation time did not constitute “full physical incarceration.” 

Accordingly, Saunders has failed to establish that he spent time in “official

detention” prior to the commencement of his sentence, and he therefore fails to

establish entitlement to credit towards his sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3585.

We AFFIRM the district court’s denial of Saunders’ § 2241 petition.2

ENTERED FOR THE COURT

Stephen H. Anderson

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 07-4206 Document: 0101103172 Date Filed: 01/04/2008 Page: 3