UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

DISTRICT OF OREGON 

JAMES BENNETT, 

Petitioner, 

v. 

RICHARD IVES, WARDEN, 

Respondent. 

Coffin, Magistrate Judge. 

3:16-cv-00355-TC 

FINDINGS and 

RECOMMENDATION 

Petitioner, an inmate at FCI Sheridan, filed a petition 

under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 alleging that the BOP wrongfully 

terminated him from a UNICOR job working with solar energy. 

Petition (#1). Plaintiff seeks an order requiring the BOP to 

provide petitioner with a certification that petitioner 

completed a solar technology apprenticeship, to pay him lost 

wages and to expunge a disciplinary incident report from his 

record. Id, at p. 6-7. 

1 - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION 

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Respondent moves to deny the petition for lack of 

jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. In the 

alternative, respondent argues that the petition should be 

denied on the ground that petitioner has failed to exhaust 

available administrative remedies. Response (#6) p. 2. 

Petitioner has not filed a brief in support of his 

petition or a a reply to Respondents response. 

Habeas corpus proceedings are the proper mechanism for a 

prisoner to challenge the 'legality or duration' of 

confinement." Badea v. Cox, 931 F.2d 573, 574 (9;:h Cir. 1991) 

(quoting Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475. 484 (1973)). "A 

civil rights action, in contrast, is the proper method of 

challenging 'conditions of ... confinement.'" Badea, 931 F.2d 

at 574 (quoting Preiser, 411 U.S. at 498-99). 

While it is possible that some claims may have a remedy 

under either the Civil Rights Act or habeas corpus statutes, 

see Preiser, the preferred practice in the Ninth Circuit 

appears to require that all challenges to conditions of 

confinement be brought in a civil rights complaint. See, 

Badea, supra; Crawford v. Bell, 599 F.2nd 890, 891-92 & n. 1 

(9th Cir. 1979); Doganiere v. Thornburg, 899 F.2d 1224 (9th 

Cir. 19 90) (unpublished opinion) citing several United States 

Supreme Court cases implying that habeas may be a proper 

avenue to challenge the conditions of a prisoners 

2 - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION 

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confinement). Wilwording v. Swenson, 404 U.S. 249 (1971) 

Petitioner's claims and requested relief in this case 

clearly relate to the conditions of his confinement. 

Therefore, even if plaintiff's claims could be cognizable 

under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, the court construes petitioner's 

habeas corpus petition as a civil rights complaint against 

federal officials pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal 

Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). See, Wilwording v. Swenson, 404 

U.S. 249, 251 (1971) (reversing the dismissal of petitioners' 

challenge to the conditions of their confinement, holding that 

they were entitled to have their action treated as a claim for 

relief under the Civil Rights Act); see also, Hassain v. 

Johnson, 790 F.2d 1420, 1420-21 (9th Cir. 1986) (per curiam) 

[construing a federal prisoner's civil rights complaint as 

both a petition for habeas corpus relief and a Bivens action 

for civil rights violations]; Tucker v. Carlson, 925 F.2d 330 

(9th Cir. 1991) [to the extent that a federal prisoner's 

pleading seeks damages for a civil rights violation, it should 

be construed as a Bivens action]. 

It is well settled that inmates have no due process 

interest in a UNICOR job. See eg. Harris v. Sively, 1991 WL 

268943*1 (9th aCir. 1991) (no liberty interest in UNICOR jobs); 

Baumann v. Arizona, 754 F.2d 841, 846 (9th Cir. 1985) (no 

constitutional right to work and educational opportunities). 

3 - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION 

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In addition, inmates have no due process rights in 

avoiding disciplinary sanctions that do not result in the loss 

of Good Conduct Time credits. See, Zavala v. Copenhaver, 2014 

WL 4249627 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 27, 2014). 

In this case, petitioner's disciplinary sanction related 

to the loss of his job and did not involve loss of good time 

credits. 

Therefore, plaintiff's claims fail to state a claim for 

a constitutional violation. 

Assuming arguendo that some of defendants' alleged 

conduct could be construed as implicating petitioner's 

constitutional rights, it un-controverted in the record before 

the court that petitioner did not exhaust administrative 

remedies with respect to his claims as required by the PLRA, 

42 U.S.C. § 1997(a)e; 18 U.S.C., § 3626(g) (2); Porter v. 

Nussle, 534 U.S. 516, 524-525 (2002). 

Petitioner's Petition (#1) should be denied. The Clerk 

of the Court should be directed to enter an judgment 

dismissing this proceeding. 

This recommendation is not an order that is immediately 

appealable to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Any notice 

of appeal pursuant to Rule 4(a) (1), Federal Rules of Appellate 

Procedure, should not be filed until entry of the district 

court's judgment or appealable order. The parties shall have 

4 - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION 

Case 3:16-cv-00355-TC Document 8 Filed 11/23/16 Page 4 of 5
fourteen (14) days from the date of service of a copy of this 

recommendation within which to file specific written 

objections with the court. Thereafter, the parties have 

fourteen ( 14) days within which to file a response to the 

objections. Failure to timely file objections to any factual 

determinations of the Magistrate Judge will be considered a 

waiver of a party's right to de novo consideration of the 

factual issues and will constitute a waiver of a party's right 

to appellate review of the findings of fact in an order or 

judgment entered pursuant to the Magistrate Judge's 

recommendation. 

Certificate of Appea1abi1ity 

Shou1dpetitioner appea1, a certi£icate 0£ appea1abi1ity 

shou1d be denied as petitioner has not made a substantia1 

showing 0£ the denia1 0£ a constitutiona1 right. See, 28 

U.S.C. § 2253(c) (2). 

~~ 

DATED this~ day of November, 2016. 

Judge 

5 - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION 

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