Opinion ID: 3014614
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Presentence Report Issue.

Text: In 1985, the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) asked the Eastern District of Virginia’s Probation Office to provide the 1980 PSR and/or an official statement of facts related to the 1980 convictions in anticipation of Williams’ transfer to federal custody to begin serving his federal sentences. The document that the BOP received in response to this request was the face sheet and page 2 from the 1980 PSR, plus a “Statement of Facts.” The BOP apparently believed that this document was the 1980 PSR. However, the “Statement of Facts” was actually the factual summary taken directly from the brief that the prosecuting attorney had filed in opposition to Williams’ direct appeal from his 1980 conviction. Relying upon this information, the BOP placed Williams into its Sophisticated Criminal Activity (“SCA”) - Drugs Assignment, classification.4 Williams subsequently requested a copy of his 1980 PSR under the Freedom of Information Act. In response, he received the document that the BOP received in 1985 (hereinafter “the 1985 version”), which the BOP mistakenly believed to be the 1980 PSR. In 1994, Williams filed various motions to correct his sentence under Fed. R. 4 The government says that this classification meant that Williams could not be housed with similarly classified inmates. Government’s Br. at 14 n.4. 4 Crim. P. 35(a).5 In January 1995, Williams, who was then confined at the USP in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, unsuccessfully filed an Administrative Remedy with the BOP asking to have the “improper presentence report,” removed from his BOP central file. Williams complained that the BOP had failed to comply with the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(5), (g)(1)(C), and its own policies, because the accuracy of the 1985 version had not been established. Williams appealed the denial of his grievance to the regional level, but the Regional Director denied his appeal. The Central Office noted that the issue was moot because the BOP had eliminated the SCA – Drug Classification on July 25, 1994. Thereafter, the issue of the 1985 version being in Williams’ prison file was apparently dropped for a while. Then, on April 17, 1998, Williams’ Unit Manager at USP Allenwood wrote the Probation Office in the Eastern District of Virginia concerning Williams’ claim of inaccuracies in his PSR. Chief Deputy Hale responded by advising that the confusion had been addressed when Williams was confined at USP Leavenworth. B. The Prison File Claim Regarding the FCI Memphis Homicide. From April 20, 1989 until July 29, 1992, Williams was incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution (“FCI”) Memphis, Tennessee. Williams was transferred from FCI Memphis to FCI Oxford because of his suspected involvement in the homicide of 5 We need not detail the several administrative steps taken in the interim to challenge or confirm the accuracy of the 1985 version. 5 another inmate. The government claims that this transfer was for administrative purposes for Williams’ own protection because of concerns about inmate reprisals for Williams’ role in the killing at FCI M emphis. C. Employment Discrimination Issue. Williams began working in the Education Department at USP Allenwood on August 13, 1994. While in that department, he worked as a law clerk and remained in that position until November 13, 1995 when he was reassigned to various other work details.6 He returned to his job as a law clerk in the Education Department on October 7, 1996, and continued to work in that capacity thereafter except for brief absences due to sickness or vacation. The BOP has four pay grades for inmates assigned to jobs in institutions under its control. The lowest level is Pay Grade Four and the highest is Pay Grade One. There are a very limited number of Pay Grade One positions in any given institution, with only five percent of the inmates at any institution being permitted to be assigned to that pay grade. The Education Department at USP Allenwood is assigned four Pay Grade One positions. Although there is no predetermined number of such positions in any given department, one has traditionally been assigned to the law clerk position in the law library at Allenwood. The other three Pay Grade One positions have been given to tutors. 6 In 1971, while incarcerated at USP Atlanta on a drug charge, Williams received a LL.B. through correspondence from the Blackstone School of Law in Chicago, Illinois. 6 Williams began his job as a law clerk in the Education Department at USP Allenwood at Pay Grade Four; the lowest pay grade. However, over time, he was promoted to his then-current status of Pay Grade Two. In 1997, a Pay Grade One position opened in the Education Department. According to the government, the factors considered when filling a Pay Grade One position are the eligible individual’s qualifications, past work performance, and seniority. Here, the government claims that the Education Department considered the eligible inmates under consideration for Pay Grade One to be relatively equal. Initially, the Education Department selected two part-time employees who had the longest consecutive longevity. However, when informed that absent extenuating circumstances, the Pay Grade One position had to be given to a full-time employee, the Education Department told the most senior inmate that he would have to work full-time if he wanted to keep his promotion. The inmate agreed and was thus assigned to Pay Grade One. Williams was eligible for Pay Grade One, but was not selected. According to the government, Williams was third on the eligibility list behind two other inmates who had more seniority having started on July 10, 1995, and September 26, 1996. Thereafter, a series of administrative filings ensued in which Williams asserted that he had been denied the Pay Grade One position because of race. The prison administrators claimed at different points in the process that the decision had been made based upon seniority, consecutive seniority, the greater responsibilities of the inmate who was selected over 7 Williams, and that inmate’s proficiency in Spanish. D. The Good Time Credit Issue. While Williams was at FCI Memphis, administrators recommended that he receive Meritorious Good Time Credit effective August 1, 1991. According to the government, that recommendation was removed pursuant to BOP policy7 effective August 10, 1992, when Williams was transferred from FCI Memphis and to FCI Oxford. The Meritorious Good Time Credit began again on March 8, 1995, at USP Allenwood when that institution approved the staff recommendation to award such credit. Williams claims that his good time credit from Memphis was denied because of his alleged involvement in the aforementioned inmate homicide at Memphis without affording him due process.