Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-03754/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-03754-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 28:2241 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Federal)

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WO JKM

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Jose de Jesus Valenzuela-Gaxiola, 

Petitioner,

vs.

Tom Long, 

Respondent.

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No. CV 05-3754-PHX-MHM (MEA)

ORDER

Petitioner Jose de Jesus Valenzuela-Gaxiola has filed a pro se Petition for Writ of

Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The Petition will be dismissed with leave to

amend.

A. Background

On September 12, 2005, Petitioner was convicted of possession with intent to

distribute Cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) & (b)(1)(A)(ii)(II). See United

States v. Valenzuela-Gaxiola, No. CR 04-0789-TUC-FRZ (D. Ariz.). He was sentenced to

72 months imprisonment. Petitioner is presently serving his sentence in Eloy, Arizona. In

his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed with this Court, Petitioner contends that the

Bureau of Prisons has miscalculated his good time credit. 

B. Summary Dismissal

The Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases may be applied to habeas corpus petitions

other than those brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. See Rule 1(b), Rules Governing Section

2254 Cases. Pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases, promptly after

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the filing of a petition for habeas corpus, the Court must undertake a preliminary review of

the petition to determine whether “it plainly appears from the face of the petition and any

attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court.” Rule 4,

Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases; see also 28 U.S.C. § 2243. If the Petitioner is not

entitled to relief, the petition must be summarily dismissed. Id.; Obremski v. Maass, 915

F.2d 418 (9th Cir. 1990) (affirming district court’s summary dismissal as a matter of law, but

relying upon Rule 4 rather than Rule 12(b)(6)).

Under Rule 4, district courts must take an active role in summarily disposing of

facially defective petitions. Boyd v. Thompson, 147 F.3d 1124, 1127 (9th Cir. 1998). This

summary dismissal power is not without limits. Id. at 1128. A court must give a petitioner

notice and an opportunity to respond to the argument for dismissal. Id.; accord Herbst v.

Cook, 260 F.3d 1039, 1043 (9th Cir. 2001). When the petitioner is pro se, the court must

make clear the issue and the consequences for failing to respond. Boyd, 147 F.3d at 1128.

 Because the Court finds that Petitioner’s application is facially defective, Petitioner is hereby

given notice, and he will be permitted thirty days to respond or file an Amended Petition.

C. Good Time Credit Calculation

Petitioner contends that the Bureau of Prisons has failed to properly calculate his good

time credit under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b). Section 3624(b)(1) provides, in part that:

[A] prisoner who is serving a term of imprisonment of more than 1 year other

than a term of imprisonment for the duration of the prisoner’s life, may receive

credit toward the service of the prisoner’s sentence, beyond the time served,

of up to 54 days at the end of each year of the prisoner’s term of imprisonment, beginning at the end of the first year of the term, subject to determination by

the Bureau of Prisons that, during that year, the prisoner has displayed

exemplary compliance with institutional disciplinary regulations.

18 U.S.C. § 3624(b)(1) (emphasis added). Petitioner was informed that he would receive 54

days of credit for each year served, or 282 days, but Petitioner believes that he should receive

54 days of credit for each year of his imposed 51-month sentence, for a total of 324 days. 

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals squarely addressed the Bureau of Prison’s

interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b)(1) in Pacheco-Camacho v. Hood, 272 F.3d 1266 (9th

Cir. 2001). The Bureau of Prisons has interpreted “term of imprisonment” in § 3624(b)(1)

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to mean the actual time served and not the length of the imposed sentence. Id. at 1270-71.

The Ninth Circuit found that the “term of imprisonment” was ambiguous, but that the

interpretation by the Bureau of Prisons was entitled to deference because it was reasonable.

Id. at 1271. Petitioner relies on White v. Scibana, 314 F. Supp. 2d 834 (W. D. Wis. 2004),

and Moreland v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, 363 F. Supp. 2d 882 (S. D. Tex. 2005), for the

proposition that “term of imprisonment” means sentence imposed rather than sentence

served. But both of those decisions were reversed on appeal. White v. Scibana, 390 F.3d

997, 1001 (7th Cir. 2004) (agreeing with Pacheco-Camacho that “term of imprisonment”

means sentence imposed); Moreland v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, 431 F.3d 180 (5th Cir.

2005) (same). Accordingly, the Petition will be dismissed as meritless and Petitioner will

be given thirty days to respond or file an amended petition.

D. Amendment

Petitioner may choose to amend his Petition. The Clerk of Court will be directed to

provide Petitioner with a form for filing a habeas action pursuant to § 2241. Petitioner is

advised that the Amended Petition must be retyped or rewritten in its entirety on a courtapproved form and may not incorporate any part of the original Petition by reference. Any

Amended Petition submitted by Petitioner must be clearly designated as such on the face of

the document. An amended petition supersedes the original petition. Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963

F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir. 1992); Hal Roach Studios v. Richard Feiner & Co., 896 F.2d 1542,

1546 (9th Cir. 1990). After amendment, the original pleading is treated as nonexistent.

Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1262. Thus, grounds alleged in an original petition which are not alleged

in the amended petition are waived. King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir. 1987).

E. Warning of Possible Dismissal Pursuant to Rule 41

Petitioner should take notice that if he fails to timely comply with every provision of

this Order, or any order of the Court entered in this matter, the Petition and this action will

be dismissed pursuant to Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Ferdik, 963

F.2d at 1260 (district court may dismiss action for failure to comply with any order of the

Court).

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:

(1) That Petitioner shall have 30 days from the date this Order is filed to either file

a Response regarding why the Petition should not be dismissed or to file an Amended

Petition. The Amended Petition must be retyped or rewritten in its entirety on a courtapproved form and may not incorporate any part of the original Petition by reference. Any

Amended Petition submitted by Petition should be clearly designated as such on the face of

the document.

(2) That at all times during the pendency of this action, Petitioner shall immediately

advise the Court of any change of address and its effective date. Such notice shall be

captioned “NOTICE OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS.” Petitioner shall serve a copy of the

Notice of Change of Address on all opposing parties. The notice shall contain only

information pertaining to the change of address and its effective date, and shall not include

a motion for other relief. Failure to timely file a notice of change of address may result in

the dismissal of the action for failure to prosecute pursuant to Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules

of Civil Procedure.

(3) That the Clerk of Court shall enter a judgment of dismissal of this action, without

prejudice and without further notice to Petitioner, if Petitioner fails to file a Response or

Amended Petition within 30 days of the date this Order is filed.

(4) That the Clerk of Court shall provide to Petitioner a current court-approved form

for filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241.

DATED this 27th day of March, 2006.

Case 2:05-cv-03754-MHM--MEA Document 3 Filed 04/04/06 Page 4 of 12
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Name

 

Prison Number

 

Place of Confinement

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

 , )

Full Name )

)

)

 Petitioner, ) 

) Case Number (To be supplied by

 vs. ) by the Clerk, U.S. District

) Court)

 , )

(Name of Warden, Superintendent, )

Jailor, or authorized person ) PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS

having custody of petitioner.) ) CORPUS BY A PERSON IN FEDERAL

) CUSTODY (28 U.S.C. § 2241)

) (Do not use this form if you

) are challenging a state or 

Respondent. ) federal judgment or conviction

) and sentence)

 )

 

PETITION.2241 (Revised 9/1/91)

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INSTRUCTIONS - READ CAREFULLY

(1) This petition must be legibly handwritten or typewritten and

signed by the petitioner under penalty of perjury. Any false

statement of a material fact may serve as the basis for prosecution

and conviction for perjury. All questions must be answered concisely

in the proper space on the form. Where more room is needed to answer

any question, attach additional pages. 

(2) Additional pages are not permitted except with respect to the

facts which you rely upon to support your grounds for relief. No

citation of authorities need be furnished. If briefs or arguments

are submitted, they should be submitted in the form of a separate

memorandum.

(3) Upon receipt of a fee of $5.00, your petition will be filed if

it is in proper order.

(4) If you do not have the necessary filing fee, you may request

permission to proceed in forma pauperis, in which event you must

execute the Declaration on the last two (2) pages, setting forth

information establishing your inability to prepay the fees and costs

or give security therefor. If you wish to proceed in forma pauperis,

you must have an authorized officer at the penal institution complete

the Certificate as to the amount of money and securities on deposit

to your credit in any account at the institution. If your prison

account exceeds $25.00 you must pay the filing fee as required by the

Rules of the District Court.

(5) Only one unlawful confinement, time credit loss, or parole

matter, etc., may be challenged in a single petition. If you

challenge more than one, you should do so by separate petitions.

(6) Your attention is directed to the fact that you must include all

grounds for relief and all facts supporting such grounds for relief

in the petition. 

(7) When the petition is fully completed, the original and two (2)

copies must be mailed to:

Phoenix & Prescott Divisions: OR Tucson Division:

U.S. District Court Clerk U.S. District Court Clerk

U.S. Courthouse, Suite 321 U.S. Courthouse, Suite 1500

401 West Washington Street, SPC 10 405 West Congress Street

Phoenix, Arizona 85003-2119 Tucson, Arizona 85701-5010

(8) Petitions that do not conform to these instructions will be

returned with a notation as to the deficiency.

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PETITION

1. Name and location of court that entered the judgment of

conviction: 

2. Date of judgment of conviction: 

Case Number: 

3. Length of sentence: Sentencing Judge: 

4. Nature of offence(s) of which you were convicted: 

 

 

 

5. Did you appeal from the judgment of conviction? Yes( ) No( )

6. If you did appeal, give the following information for each

appeal:

a. (1) Name of court 

(2) Result 

(3) Date of result 

(4) Citation or number of opinion 

(5) Grounds raised (list each)

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

b. (1) Name of court 

(2) Result 

(3) Date of result 

(4) Citation or number of opinion 

(5) Grounds raised (list each)

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

7. State concisely every ground on which you claim that you are

being held unlawfully. Summarize briefly the facts supporting

each ground. If necessary, you may attach pages stating

additional grounds and facts supporting same.

CAUTION: In order to proceed in the federal court you must ordinarily

first exhaust your administrative remedies as to each ground on which

you request action by the federal court. As to all grounds on which

you have previously exhausted administrative remedies, you should set

them forth in this petition if you wish to seek federal relief. If

you fail to set forth all such grounds in this petition, you may be

barred from presenting them at a later date.

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For your information, the following is a list of the most

frequently raised grounds for relief in habeas corpus proceedings.

Each statement preceded by a letter constitutes a separate ground for

possible relief. You may raise any grounds that you may have other

than those listed if you have exhausted all your administrative

remedies with respect to them. However, you should raise in this

petition all available grounds.

If you select one or more of these grounds for relief, you must

allege facts in support of the ground or grounds that you choose. Do

not check any of the grounds listed below. The petition will be

returned to you if you merely check (a) through (m), or any one of

these grounds:

(a) Conditions of confinement violate a constitutional right.

(b) Prison regulations, on their face or as enforced, are 

violative of the Constitution or other federal law.

(c) Prison transfer has been threatened, carried out, or denied

in violation of federal constitutional or statutory law.

(d) Confinement is at a place forbidden by statutory law.

(e) Convicted person's prisoner classification violates federal

constitutional or other law.

(f) Good time credit has been ended or forfeited in violation

of federal constitutional or statutory law.

(g) Credit for time spent in jail prior to sentencing or

pending appeal has been denied in violation of federal

constitutional or other law.

(h) Prison officials have refused to release the convicted

person, even though he has served his sentence or is

entitled to mandatory release.

(i) Parole was denied, postponed, rescinded, or revoked in

violation of federal constitutional or other law.

(j) A parole violation warrant was issued or executed in

violation of federal constitutional or other law.

(k) There has been an unlawful refusal to terminate parole.

(l) Convicted person is suffering adverse effects from a federal

or state detainer lodged against him in violation of federal

constitutional or other law.

(m) Custody is otherwise subject to collateral attack by reason

of the conduct of prison or parole authorities.

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A. Ground One: 

 

Supporting FACTS (tell your story briefly without citing cases or

law): 

 

A-1. Did you exhaust all administrative remedies relating to Ground

One? Yes ( ) No ( )

 

A-2. This issue was presented:

( ) To the Parole Commission

( ) To the Office of General Counsel

( ) Other 

A-3. If the answer to A-1 is "no," explain why the issue was not

raised. 

 

B. Ground Two: 

 

Supporting FACTS (tell your story briefly without citing cases or

law): 

 

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B-1. Did you exhaust all administrative remedies relating to Ground

Two? Yes ( ) No ( )

 

B-2. This issue was presented:

( ) To the Parole Commission

( ) To the Office of General Counsel

( ) Other 

B-3. If the answer to B-1 is "no," explain why the issue was not

raised. 

 

C. Ground Three: 

 

Supporting FACTS (tell your story briefly without citing cases or

law): 

 

C-1. Did you exhaust all administrative remedies relating to Ground

Three? Yes ( ) No ( )

 

C-2. This issue was presented:

( ) To the Parole Commission

( ) To the Office of General Counsel

( ) Other 

C-3. If the answer to C-1 is "no," explain why the issue was not

raised. 

 

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D. Ground Four: 

 

Supporting FACTS (tell your story briefly without citing cases or

law): 

 

D-1. Did you exhaust all administrative remedies relating to Ground

Four? Yes ( ) No ( )

 

D-2. This issue was presented:

( ) To the Parole Commission

( ) To the Office of General Counsel

( ) Other 

D-3. If the answer to D-1 is "no," explain why the issue was not

raised. 

 

8. Have you filed previous petitions for habeas corpus, motions

under Section 2255 of Title 28, United States Code, or any other

applications, petitions or motions with respect to this

conviction? Yes ( ) No ( )

9. If your answer to Question No. 10 was yes, give the following

information:

(a) Name of Court 

(b) Nature of proceeding 

(c) Grounds raised 

 

 

(d) Result 

(e) Date of result 

(f) Citation or number of any written opinions or orders entered

pursuant to each disposition 

 

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10. If you did not file a motion under Section 2255 of Title 28,

United States Code, or if you filed such a motion and it was

denied, state why your remedy by way of such motion is

inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of your

detention:

 

11. Are you presently represented by counsel? Yes ( ) No ( )

If so, name, address, and telephone number: 

 

 

Case name and court 

 

12. If you are seeking leave to proceed in forma pauperis, have you

completed the declaration setting forth the required

information? Yes ( ) No ( )

WHEREFORE, petitioner prays that the court grant petitioner

relief to which he may be entitled in this proceeding.

I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury

that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on 

 (date) Signature of Petitioner

 

Signature of Attorney (if any)

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