Opinion ID: 168802
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Regulatory and Statutory Provisions

Text: Section 570.21 of the BOP’s regulations states the BOP “will designate inmates to community confinement only . . . during the last ten percent of the prison sentence being served, not to exceed six months.” 28 C.F.R. § 570.21(a). Section 570.20 establishes the purpose of the regulations as a “categorical exercise of discretion for designating inmates . . . to community confinement only as part of pre-release custody and programming which w ill afford the prisoner a reasonable opportunity to adjust to and prepare for re-entry into the community.” 28 C.F.R. § 570.20(a). The BOP’s notice accompanying the publication of its -3- proposed rules explained that its prohibition on placing inmates in CCCs prior to the final portion of their sentences was consistent with considerations articulated by Congress in 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b), sentencing policy articulated by Congress in 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c), Congress’ general interest in deterring future criminal conduct, and policies articulated by the United States Sentencing Commission in § 5C1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines. See Community Confinement, 69 Fed. Reg. 51213, 51214-15 (proposed Aug. 18, 2004) (to be codified at 28 C.F.R. pt. 570). 2 The BOP identified 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) as authorizing this categorical exercise of discretion, and viewed the promulgation of a categorical rule as permissible under Lopez v. Davis, 531 U.S. 230 (2002). Id. at 51213; see also Community Confinement, 70 Fed. Reg. 1659, 1659, 1661 (Jan. 10, 2005) (codified at 28 C.F.R. pt. 570). The statute Respondent alleges authorized the promulgation of §§ 570.20 and 570.21, 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b), confers qualified discretion on the BOP to designate a prisoner’s place of imprisonment. Section 3621(b) provides in relevant part: The Bureau of Prisons shall designate the place of the prisoner’s imprisonment. The Bureau may designate any available penal or correctional facility that meets minimum standards of health and habitability established by the Bureau, . . . , considering— (1) the resources of the facility contemplated; 2 For a more thorough discussion of the BOP’s adoption of the current tenpercent policy in 2002 and the promulgation of its current regulations, see Fults, 442 F.3d at 1089-91, and Woodall, 432 F.3d at 240. -4- (2) the nature and circumstances of the offense; (3) the history and characteristics of the prisoner; (4) any statement by the court that imposed the sentence— (A) concerning the purposes for which the sentence to imprisonment was determined to be warranted; or (B) recommending a type of penal or correctional facility as appropriate; and (5) any pertinent policy statement issued by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to section 994(a)(2) of title 28. In designating the place of imprisonment or making transfers under this subsection, there shall be no favoritism given to prisoners of high social or economic status. The Bureau may at any time, having regard for the same matters, direct the transfer of a prisoner from one penal or correctional facility to another. 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b). Section 3624(c), the provision on which Respondent relies for the position that CCC facilities can only be considered as “places of imprisonment” for the last portion of a prisoner’s sentence, addresses the BOP’s affirmative obligations to a prisoner as the prisoner nears the end of a term of imprisonment. The statute directs The Bureau of Prisons shall, to the extent practicable, assure that a prisoner serving a term of imprisonment spends a reasonable part, not to exceed six months, of the last 10 per centum of the term to be served under conditions that will afford the prisoner a reasonable opportunity to adjust to and prepare for the prisoner’s re-entry into the community. 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c). The relationship between the two statutes and between § 3621(b) and the regulations at issue lie at the core of the dispute before this court. -5-