Source: http://pa.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20091008_0000961.MPA.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-06-26 12:43:19
Document Index: 395368528

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2241', '§ 841', '§ 542', '§ 542', '§ 542', '§ 542', '§ 542']

| Ferris v. Holt
Ferris v. Holt
RAYMOND K. FERRIS, PETITIONERv.WARDEN HOLT, RESPONDENT
Petitioner Raymond K. Ferris ("Ferris") filed the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on July 29, 2009, seeking an order compelling respondent to reconsider petitioner's request for pre-release custody placement in a residential re-entry center ("RRC")*fn1 for the last twelve months of his sentence in accordance with the Second Chance Act of 2007. (Doc. 1). For the reasons that follow, the petition will be dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust available administrative remedies.
Ferris, a federal inmate presently incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary at Canaan ("USP-Canaan"), Waymart, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on October 24, 2006, in the United States District Court for Maine to a fifty-one month term of imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(A)(1). (Doc. 11-2, Declaration of David Rigol ("Rigol Decl."), at 3, ¶ 3.) His projected release date is May 7, 2010, via good conduct time release. (Id. at 4, ¶ 4.)
Recommendations for RRC placement are ordinarily reviewed with the inmate and Unit Team seventeen to nineteen months prior to the inmate's probable release date. (Doc. 11-2, Rigol Decl., at 4, ¶ 5.) Referrals are then forwarded to the Community Corrections Manager at least sixty days prior to the maximum recommended date. (Id. at ¶ 6, citing BOP Program Statement 7310.04, Community Corrections Center Utilization and Transfer Procedures.)
In September 2008, Ferris's Unit Team conducted a Program Review to discuss his anticipated RRC placement and informed him that a recommendation for a 150-180 day RRC placement would be proposed. (Doc. 11-2, at 62.) . (Doc. 11-2, Rigol Decl. at 5, ¶ 8.) The Program Review Committee's Inmate Skills Development Plan indicates that the recommendation "was based on his current offense, noting that he had a longer sentence and that he was not a violent offender; available resources within the release district, noting that he has secured residency with his mother; financial planning, noting that he is not in destitution; employment options/academic history, noting that he has a high school diploma, but he has not secured employment upon his release." (Doc. 11-2, Rigol Decl. at 5, ¶ 10.) On November 20, 2008, the proposed recommendation of 150-180 days was approved by the Warden. (Id. at 5, ¶ 9, citing "Institutional Referral for CCC Placement," at 65.) Ferris is scheduled for referral to RRC on November 10, 2009.
Ferris filed a request for administrative relief with respect to his RRC placement. (Doc. 11-2, at 75.) Following a failed attempt at informal resolution, filed on May 5, 2009, he filed his first request for administrative relief on June 15, 2009. (Doc. 19-3, at 1; Doc. 19--4, at 1.) He received the following response from the Warden on July 7, 2009:
Your request was reviewed in accordance with the "Second Chance Act." The factors considered were: program participation, institutional conduct, family and community ties, release residence, educational needs, and the bed space limitations of the RRC. A review of your central file indicates you received a 51 month sentence for Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. Based on a review of these factors, the placement you have been given of November 10, 2009, to the Pharos House in Portland, Maine is appropriate. This amount of time will give you the greatest likelihood for successful reintegration into your community. (Doc. 19-4, at 2.) Ferris filed a timely appeal to the Regional Director, which was denied on August 12, 2009. (Doc. 19-5, at 4.) Next, he filed a Central Office Administrative Remedy Appeal. (Doc. 19-6, at 1-2.) Although it appears that the appeal was received on September 3, 2009, by the "Administrative Remedy Section" of the Office of General Counsel, no response has been received. Respondent takes the position that he has failed to exhaust his administrative remedies because he did not appeal to the Central Office level. (Doc. 11-2, Declaration of Susan Albert ("Albert Decl."), at 71-72, ¶ 4.)
The exhaustion procedure to be utilized by federal inmates is the administrative remedy protocol established by the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") and set forth at 28 C.F.R. §§ 542.10-542.19. Pursuant to this protocol, an inmate first must present his complaint to staff, and staff must attempt to resolve informally any issue before an inmate files a request for administrative relief. See § 542.13(a). If informal resolution proves unsuccessful, the inmate may raise the complaint with the warden of the institution where he or she is confined. See id. An inmate has twenty calendar days from the date of the alleged injury within which to complete this informal resolution process. See § 542.14(a). If an inmate is dissatisfied with the response receive, he or she may appeal the decision to the Regional Office, and if unsuccessful on this appeal, he or she may appeal to the General Counsel or Central Office of the BOP. See § 542.15. General Counsel has forty calendar days to respond. See id. § 542.18. A BOP decision is not final-and thus not reviewable -until relief has been denied by the General Counsel's Office. Id. If at ...