Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-4_05-cr-01078/USCOURTS-azd-4_05-cr-01078-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Emilio Dominguez-Roman
Defendant
United States of America
Plaintiff

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Emilio Dominguez-Roman,

Petitioner,

v.

United States of America, 

Respondent.

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CR 05-1078 TUC-DCB

CV 05-614 TUC-DCB

ORDER

Pending before this Court is Emilio Donguez-Roman's ("Petitioner") "Motion for

Time Reduction by an Inmate in Federal Custody. (28 U.S.C. § 2255)" ("Petition"). For

the reasons set forth below, Petitioner is not entitled to relief.

BACKGROUND

On September 8, 2004, Petitioner, an alien, pleaded guilty to violating Title 21,

U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B)(vii), for possession with intent to distribute 100 to

1,000 kilograms of marijuana. On October 3, 2005, pursuant to a plea agreement,

Petitioner was sentenced by this Court to 30 months imprisonment, 36 months supervised

release, and a $100.00 special assessment.

Petitioner filed this Petition on October 14, 2005, wherein he alleges he, as an

illegal alien, is subject to disparate treatment, in violation of the First, Sixth, Seventh and

Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. (Petition, pp. 1-2.) Petitioner alleges that,

due to his alien status, he is prohibited from participating in certain Bureau of Prisons

("BOP") benefits and programs. (Id.) Furthermore, Petitioner alleges that, due to his

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alien status, he is forced to serve a more difficult sentence and seeks a reduction thereof. 

(Id.) Accordingly, Petitioner files his Motion for Time Reduction seeking habeas corpus

relief, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. 

PROCEDURE

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a petition for writ of habeas corpus should be

presented to the court which imposed the allegedly improper sentence. 28 U.S.C. § 2255. 

According to Rule 4(a) of the Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings, the petition

shall be directed to the judge who sentenced the petitioner. Rule 4(a), Rules Governing

Section 2255 Proceedings. Therefore, this Court considers Petitioner's Petition.

Ordinarily, a court must conduct a hearing on a petition unless it "and the files

and records of the case conclusively show that the petitioner is entitled to no relief ...." 

28 U.S.C. § 2255. The Petition, as well as the files and records, conclusively establish

that Petitioner is not entitled to relief. Therefore, no hearing is required to rule on the

present Petition. For the same reasons, this Court does not require a response to the

Petition from the United States Attorney. Id.

DECISION

Liberally construing the Petition, it appears that Petitioner's sole basis for relief is

his allegation of disparate treatment. Specifically, Petitioner argues, due solely to his

status as a deportable alien, he is denied the benefits of 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c), through

C.F.R. § 550.58. Section 3624(c) allows a prisoner to spend a portion of his sentence in

a community-based program. 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c). The Bureau of Prisons ("BOP"),

however, has promulgated regulations excluding prisoners with detainers, including

deportable prisoners, from this statutory provision. See, McLean v. Crabtree, 173 F.3d

1176 (9th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 120 S.Ct. 814 (2000); 61 Fed.Reg. 25121; 28 C.F.R.

550.58. This exclusion, according to Petitioner, results in disparate treatment as it denies

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deportable aliens such as himself equal protection under the law in violation of the

Constitution of the United States. 

The Ninth Circuit has already conclusively decided that claims such as

Petitioner's must fail. In McLean, the Ninth Circuit ruled that BOP regulations which

exclude prisoners with detainers, including deportable aliens like Petitioner, from

community-based programs do not violate the Constitution. McLean, 173 F.3d at 1185-

1186. While aliens such as Petitioner are persons entitled to the protections of the Fifth

and Fourteenth Amendments, the BOP regulation does not impermissibly deny aliens like

Petitioner those protections since the regulation does not exclude persons based on their

membership in the class of incarcerated aliens. Id. at 1185. Rather, the BOP exclusion

applies to all prisoners with detainers lodged against them, including deportable

prisoners, regardless of their race or national origin. Id. Since prisoners with detainers

do not constitute a suspect class, and there is no evidence of discriminatory intent, the

BOP regulation is valid so long as it is rationally related to a legitimate government

interest. Id. at 1186. 

The legitimate government interest in this case is the BOP's reasonable concern

that prisoners with detainers, including deportable aliens, pose a flight risk during the

community-based treatment phase of their incarceration. Id. The BOP regulation is "at

least rationally related to the BOP's legitimate interest in preventing prisoners from

fleeing detainers [including deportation] while participating in community treatment

programs." Id. (emphasis added.) Since the BOP regulation is rationally related to this

legitimate government interest, there is no violation of Petitioner's constitutional rights.

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that Petitioner's Motion for Time Reduction by an Inmate in

Federal Custody (28 U.S.C. § 2255), (Document 17) filed in CR 05-1078 TUC DCB and

(Document 1) filed in CV 05-614 TUC DCB is DENIED.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Civil case number CV 05-614 TUC-DCB is

DISMISSED with prejudice.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment

accordingly.

DATED this 4th day of November, 2005.

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