Task: songer_typeiss

What follows is an opinion from a United States Court of Appeals.
Your task is to determine the general category of issues discussed in the opinion of the court. Choose among the following categories. Criminal and prisioner petitions- includes appeals of conviction, petitions for post conviction relief, habeas corpus petitions, and other prisoner petitions which challenge the validity of the conviction or the sentence or the validity of continued confinement. Civil - Government - these will include appeals from administrative agencies (e.g., OSHA,FDA), the decisions of administrative law judges, or the decisions of independent regulatory agencies (e.g., NLRB, FCC,SEC). The focus in administrative law is usually on procedural principles that apply to administrative agencies as they affect private interests, primarily through rulemaking and adjudication. Tort actions against the government, including petitions by prisoners which challenge the conditions of their confinement or which seek damages for torts committed by prion officials or by police fit in this category. In addition, this category will include suits over taxes and claims for benefits from government. Diversity of Citizenship - civil cases involving disputes between citizens of different states (remember that businesses have state citizenship). These cases will always involve the application of state or local law. If the case is centrally concerned with the application or interpretation of federal law then it is not a diversity case. Civil Disputes - Private - includes all civil cases that do not fit in any of the above categories. The opposing litigants will be individuals, businesses or groups.

PER CURIAM:
Bryan and his codefendant Ballard were tried and convicted of armed robbery of a federally insured bank. We affirmed their convictions. United States v. Ballard, 5 Cir. 1970, 423 F.2d 127. The mandate from this court issued on April 9, 1970, and was filed in the district court on April 10, 1970. On December 9, 1972, Bryan filed his first motion for modification of his sentence, which the district court denied for want of jurisdiction since the motion had not been filed within 120 days of receipt of the mandate of affirmance as required by Rule 35, F.R.Crim.P. On December 5, 1973, Bryan wrote the sentencing judge a letter again requesting modification. Treating the letter as a petition for reduction of sentence pursuant to Rule 35, the court again denied relief for want of jurisdiction, and Bryan appealed. We affirm.
Bryan seeks to have his sentence modified pursuant to 18 U.S.C.A. § 4208(a) (2). This would make him eligible for parole at such time as the board of parole may determine. Such a modification would make the sentence less onerous, since he would otherwise be eligible for parole only after serving one-third of his twenty-two year sentence. 18 U.S.C.A. § 4202.
Rule 35 provides in pertinent part: The court may reduce a sentence within 120 days after the sentence is imposed, or within 120 days after receipt by the court of a mandate issued upon affirmance of the judgment ....
Bryan argues that the 120 day time limit should not be applied, since he is not asking for a reduction of the sentence but rather a modification to make him eligible for parole sooner. We agree, as did the district court, with Chief Judge Keady’s analysis in Banks v. United States, N.D.Miss.1973, 365 F.Supp. 594. In that case Banks made the same argument Bryan makes here, but Chief Judge Ready held that “the alteration of a sentence to include the provisions of 18 U.S.C.A. § 4208(a)(2) is in effect a reduction in sentence,” so that the sentencing court is without jurisdiction to make the modification more than 120 days after the receipt of the mandate of affirmance. See also United States v. Granville, 5 Cir. 1972, 456 F.2d 1073; United States v. Gorman, 5 Cir. 1970, 431 F.2d 632; United States v.Mehrtens, 5 Cir. 1974, 494 F.2d 1172.
Affirmed.

Question: What is the general category of issues discussed in the opinion of the court?
A. criminal and prisoner petitions
B. civil - government
C. diversity of citizenship
D. civil - private
E. other, not applicable
F. not ascertained
Answer:

Answer: A