Opinion ID: 3053943
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Place of imprisonment.—The Bureau of Pris-

Text: ons shall designate the place of the prisoner’s imprisonment. The [BOP] may designate any available penal or correctional facility that meets minimum standards . . . established by the [BOP], whether maintained by the Federal Government or otherwise and whether within or without the judicial district in which the person was convicted, that the [BOP] determines to be appropriate and suitable . . . . 18 U.S.C. § 3621 (2008), amended by Pub. L. No. 109-248, Title VI, § 622, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 634.5 Section 3621 gives the BOP considerable discretion in assigning a person to a particular facility—whether or not that facility is maintained by the federal government—for purposes of serving a term of imprisonment. Regardless of where the BOP elects to transfer a person, she or he remains under BOP custody until the prescribed term of “imprisonment” expires. [2] As the district court underscored, the BOP’s authority is made explicit, and the effect of such a placement is plainly stated in § 3624(c) and (e), which provide, in pertinent part: