Source: https://openjurist.org/98/f3d/752
Timestamp: 2018-12-17 05:09:42
Document Index: 196201918

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2253', '§ 2253', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 802', '§ 3626', '§ 2', '§ 1391', '§ 2412', '§ 2254', '§ 802', '§ 3626', '§ 3626', '§ 802', '§ 802', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 1997', '§ 1346', '§ 1983', '§ 1914', '§ 1915', '§ 846', '§ 5', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 2255', '§ 2253', '§ 2253', '§ 2253', '§ 2254', '§ 2262', '§ 2241', '§ 2253', '§ 3553', '§ 3553']

98 F3d 752 Santana v. United States | OpenJurist
98 F. 3d 752 - Santana v. United States
98 F3d 752 Santana v. United States
98 F.3d 752
Ernesto Santana, Appellant.
No. 96-5276.
Submitted by the Clerk for a certificate of appealability
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)
As Amended Nov. 14, 1996.
By Order entered April 12, 1996, the district court denied the request for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court concluded that, because the statutory minimum sentence associated with Santana's offense exceeded the Sentencing Guideline range asserted by Santana, the request for habeas relief lacked merit. Santana filed a timely notice of appeal, which, in light of the recent amendments to habeas corpus law, was construed as a request for a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B).
Before examining the merits of Santana's request, we consider whether, in light of the Prison Litigation Reform Act ("PLRA"), Santana must pay the appellate docketing and filing fees of $105.00. On April 26, 1996, Congress enacted the PLRA as Title VIII of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, Pub.L. 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321 (1996). Section 804 of the PLRA, which amends 28 U.S.C. § 1915, redefines the rights and obligations of litigants who are granted in forma pauperis status. Prior to the passage of the PLRA, imprisoned litigants who were granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis could seek and easily obtain waivers of filing fees. The PLRA, however, requires prisoners proceeding in forma pauperis who bring "civil actions" or appeals of "civil actions" to pay all filing fees. The PLRA also establishes an elaborate deferred payment schedule by which litigants may fulfill their filing fee obligations. If an imprisoned litigant's funds are insufficient to pay the full filing fee, the prisoner must pay an initial partial filing fee. Thereafter, the prisoner must make monthly payments to the court until the filing fee is paid in full.2
The PLRA applies to prisoners who bring a "civil action" or who appeal a judgment in a "civil action or proceeding." 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2), (b). But the PLRA neither defines "civil action" for purposes of in forma pauperis litigants nor expressly excludes habeas corpus proceedings from its scope.
At first blush, the plain meaning of the PLRA appears to require petitioners for habeas relief to fulfill its filing fee obligations. Habeas corpus proceedings are technically civil actions. Ex parte Tom Tong, 108 U.S. 556, 559, 2 S.Ct. 871, 872, 27 L.Ed. 826 (1883). Not only do habeas petitions fit within the literal scope of the PLRA, but § 802(a) of the PLRA, which applies to "civil action[s] with respect to prison conditions," explicitly excludes habeas corpus proceedings from its scope. 18 U.S.C. § 3626. As a result, one could argue that, because Congress excluded habeas corpus petitions in one provision, it would have done so in the filing fee provision if it had intended. See, e.g., Van Doren v. Mazurkiewicz, 935 F.Supp. 604, 605-06 (E.D.Pa.1996) (holding that the PLRA applies to habeas corpus proceedings); see also Green v. Nottingham, 90 F.3d 415, 418 (10th Cir.1996) (holding that "petitions for a writ of mandamus are included within the meaning of the term 'civil action' " for purposes of the PLRA).
We do not believe, however, that the meaning of the phrase "civil action" as used in the PLRA is plain. First, habeas corpus cases are, in effect, hybrid actions whose nature is not adequately captured by the phrase "civil action"; they are independent civil dispositions of completed criminal proceedings. James S. Liebman, 1 FEDERAL HABEAS CORPUS PRACTICE & PROCEDURE § 2.1, at 3 (1988). The "civil" label is attached to habeas proceedings in order to distinguish them from "criminal" proceedings, which are intended to punish and require various constitutional guarantees. Boudin v. Thomas, 732 F.2d 1107, 1112 (2d Cir.1984); see also Ex parte Tom Tong, 108 U.S. at 559, 2 S.Ct. at 872 (Habeas corpus review is a civil proceeding because "[p]roceedings to enforce civil rights are civil proceedings and proceedings for the punishment of crimes are criminal proceedings."). In light of their hybrid nature, habeas proceedings are often determined to be outside the reach of the phrase "civil action." See, e.g., Schlanger v. Seamans, 401 U.S. 487, 490 n. 4, 91 S.Ct. 995, 998 n. 4, 28 L.Ed.2d 251 (1971) (nationwide service of process under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e) applicable in civil proceedings against United States employees and officers is not available in habeas corpus proceedings); Harris v. Nelson, 394 U.S. 286, 89 S.Ct. 1082, 22 L.Ed.2d 281 (1969) (civil discovery rules do not automatically apply to habeas proceedings); Ewing v. Rodgers, 826 F.2d 967 (10th Cir.1987) (a habeas corpus suit is not a "civil action" for purposes of an award of attorneys fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A)); Boudin, 732 F.2d 1107 (similar); Dillard v. Blackburn, 780 F.2d 509 (5th Cir.1986) ("[H]abeas cases are not automatically subject to the rules governing civil actions."); see also Advisory Committee Note to Rule 11 of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases (Federal Rules of Civil Procedure apply to habeas corpus proceedings only to the extent they are not inconsistent with the habeas rules).
Furthermore, the express exclusion of habeas proceedings found in § 802(a) of the PLRA does not require us to hold that habeas proceedings are "civil actions" for purposes of the PLRA. Section 802, which amends 18 U.S.C. § 3626, limits the power of the federal courts to issue orders of relief from prison conditions by requiring that a "prison release order" be issued by a panel of three judges. A "prison release order," defined as an order "that directs the release from or non admission of prisoners to a prison," § 3626(g)(4), contemplates relief akin to that provided by a writ of habeas corpus. Thus, whereas the phrase "civil action" used in the PLRA's provision regarding filing fees does not clearly encompass habeas proceedings, the text of § 802 does. As a result, in order to distinguish between prison release orders and habeas proceedings, Congress felt compelled to exclude expressly such proceedings from the scope of § 802.
Because of the foregoing reasons, we believe that the phrase "civil action" as used in § 1915(b) lacks a plain meaning. We must therefore consider whether the phrase includes habeas corpus proceedings in this context. The two courts that have previously considered this issue agree that Congress did not intend to include habeas proceedings in the category of "civil action" for the purposes of § 1915(b). See Martin v. United States, 96 F.3d 853 (7th Cir.1996); Reyes v. Keane, 90 F.3d 676 (2d Cir.1996). We concur with those Courts. In determining whether a statute governing "civil actions" applies to habeas corpus proceedings, we must examine its context. See In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum Dated January 2, 1985 (Simels), 775 F.2d 499, 503 (2d Cir.1985) ("The application of each statute or rule using the words 'civil action' must be decided on the basis of its language, its history and its purpose."). In Reyes, 90 F.3d at 678, Judge Newman noted that nothing in the text or legislative history of the PLRA "indicate[s] that Congress has endeavored to make the filing fee payment requirements to apply to habeas corpus petitions [or appeals]." Rather, Congress enacted the PLRA primarily to curtail claims brought by prisoners under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Federal Torts Claims Act, most of which concern prison conditions and many of which are routinely dismissed as legally frivolous. See H.R.CONF.REP. NO. 104-378, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. (1996) (The PLRA "limit[s] the remedies for prison condition lawsuits."); 141 CONG. REC. S14418 (daily ed. Sept. 27, 1995) (statement of Sen. Hatch) (The PLRA will limit frivolous "prison condition lawsuits," such as a prisoner who "sued demanding that he be issued Reebok ... instead of Converse brand shoes.").
The text of the PLRA itself reflects this focus. Section 802 of the PLRA limits remedies in prison conditions cases. Section 803 restricts § 1983 actions by requiring prisoners to exhaust their administrative remedies prior to filing such claims. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997(e). Section 806 narrows the availability of relief under the Federal Tort Claims Act by prohibiting prisoners from bringing actions against the government for mental or emotional injury absent a showing of physical harm. See 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). Relying upon the PLRA's purpose, the Second Circuit has noted that the PLRA applies to special proceedings like habeas corpus "if the ... claim is analogous to the typical suits brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaining about prison conditions." Reyes, 90 F.3d at 678 (quoting In re Paul Nagy, 89 F.3d 115, 117 (2nd Cir.1996)). Although we do not suggest that the only civil actions to which the PLRA applies are prisoners' suits seeking relief from prison conditions, we agree with the Second Circuit that, where a claim is not analogous to such a suit, the PLRA should be applied with caution. See Reyes, 90 F.3d at 678 n. 1.
Furthermore, when the PLRA is read as a whole, it is apparent that Congress did not intend for the statute to apply to habeas proceedings. The PLRA establishes an elaborate installment payment plan by which litigants may fulfill their filing fee obligations, yet does not increase the $5 filing fee for a habeas corpus petition. In comparison, the filing fee for a civil complaint is $120.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). Congress surely did not intend for the installment plan of the PLRA to apply to habeas corpus actions merely to assure deferred monthly payments of a $5.00 fee. See Reyes, 90 F.3d at 678. Furthermore, § 1915(g) limits a prisoner to three frivolous suits or appeals in a lifetime. To hold that the PLRA was applicable to habeas corpus actions would prohibit a prisoner who had filed three groundless civil suits from seeking habeas relief from unlawful imprisonment. As Judge Posner observes in Martin, 96 F.3d at 855-56 "[t]his result would be contrary to a long tradition of ready access of prisoners to federal habeas corpus." This is a result that we cannot countenance.
Turning to the substance of the request for a certificate of appealability, we find no basis for granting it. In his plea for habeas relief, Santana reproaches his counsel for failure to object to a miscalculation of his sentence, asserting that the Sentencing Guideline range for his offense requires a minimum sentence of only 87 months. The crime to which Santana pled guilty, however, carries a mandatory statutory minimum sentence of 120 months. 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(b)(1)(A). In a case such as this, where the statutory minimum sentence exceeds the defendant's guideline range, the court is required to impose the statutory minimum sentence. U.S.S.G. § 5G1.1(c)(2); see also United States v. Melendez, 55 F.3d 130, 135 n. 1 (3d Cir.1995) ("Where a statutory minimum is above the Guideline range, it becomes the guideline sentence.") (internal quotation marks omitted), aff'd, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 2057, 135 L.Ed.2d 427 (1996).
18 U.S.C. § 3553(e). In Santana's case, however, the barrier remains inviolable. A court is powerless to impose a sentence below a statutory minimum without a motion of the government; in this case, the prosecution made no such motion. See Melendez, 55 F.3d at 134 ("Congress has authorized sentences below a statutory minimum only upon the prosecution's motion.").3 Moreover, by his own admission, the only assistance that Santana provided the government related to his own involvement in the conspiracy, Memorandum of Law in Support of Petition at 6-7, not that of "another person who has committed an offense." 28 U.S.C. § 3553(e). Thus, Santana cannot fault his counsel for failure to press the government to make such a motion. And because the court was powerless to impose a sentence below the statutory minimum, Santana cannot show that his attorney's performance was objectively unreasonable as required by a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-88, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064-65, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act requires that a certificate of appealability be granted before an appeal of the denial of a § 2255 petition may proceed. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1). A certificate of appealability may issue only if "the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). The Supreme Court in Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 103 S.Ct. 3383, 77 L.Ed.2d 1090 (1983), stated that under an unamended § 2253 a certificate of probable cause should issue in a § 2254 case only if the applicant had made a "substantial showing of the denial of a federal right." Id. at 893 n.4. It is undecided whether Congress intended to change the standard, along with the name, for granting a certificate of appealability. We note that in another part of the AEDPA regarding granting stays of execution, the drafters used "substantial showing of the denial of a federal right." § 2262(b)(3). We further note that a writ of habeas corpus can be granted if a person is held in violation of the Constitution (i.e. constitutional rights) or laws of the United States (i.e. federal rights). 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241, 2254, 2255. We need not determine whether the language of § 2253(c)(1) resulted from imperfect draftsmanship or from an intent to change the standard for granting a certificate of appealability because Santana's petition raises a constitutional claim, that of ineffective assistance of counsel. Since Santana has not made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, we deny the request for a certificate of appealability.
We note that 18 U.S.C. § 3553 was amended to add a "safety valve" provision that now allows a district court to impose a guideline sentence below the mandatory minimum if the defendant meets certain criteria. The safety valve exception, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f), was enacted as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pub.L. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796. This section provides no relief for petitioner, who pled guilty in 1992, as it applies only to sentences imposed on or after September 23, 1994 and is not retroactive. United States v. Torres, 1996 WL 626446 (10th Cir. Oct. 30, 1996) (citing United States v. Rodriguez-Lopez, 63 F.3d 892, 893 (9th Cir.1995) and United States v. Lopez-Pineda, 55 F.3d 693, 697 n.3 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 259, 133 L.Ed.2d 183 (1995))