Opinion ID: 164556
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Location of Psychological Evaluation

Text: Mr. Gagan’s contention that his rights were violated because he was 8 transferred to an institution 2,000 miles from Colorado for the psychological evaluation also fails. 18 U.S.C. § 4247(b) states that “[u]nless impracticable, the psychiatric or psychological examination shall be conducted in the suitable facility closest to the court.” The record reflects that the district court and the attorneys for Mr. Gagan and the government agreed upon a facility because they believed that it was the only one doing such psychological evaluations. See Tr. of Hr’g Regarding Competency Examination, at 8. Indeed, Mr. Gagan has not argued that there was a suitable facility closer to Colorado. Therefore, it seems that it was “impracticable” for Mr. Gagan’s evaluation to be conducted in a facility nearer to Colorado. Moreover, the record is devoid of facts to support an argument that the decision to transfer Mr. Gagan to a distant facility was unreasonable, and any implication that the district court acted in bad faith is gratuitous. See United States v. Taylor, 353 F.3d 868, 870 (10th Cir. 2003). See also Montez v. McKinna, 208 F.3d 862, 866 (10th Cir. 2000) (“[T]here is no federal constitutional right to incarceration in any particular prison or portion of a prison.”). Thus, Mr. Gagan’s rights were not violated by the transfer.