Summary
This is a federal district court order summarily dismissing a pro se habeas corpus petition filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The petitioner challenged the Bureau of Prisons' determination that he was categorically ineligible to earn sentence credits under the First Step Act due to his prior conviction for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The court found that the controlling statute explicitly bars credit eligibility for this specific offense, rendering the petitioner's claims legally frivolous. Accordingly, the petition was denied and dismissed with prejudice.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Payne's conviction for possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl made him categorically ineligible for First Step Act credits under 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D)(lxvi).
- Whether the BOP erred by denying First Step Act credits absent a finding that Payne was a leader or organizer of the offense.
- Whether the § 2241 petition should be summarily dismissed under the preliminary habeas screening standard.
Holdings
- A prisoner convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B)(vi) for possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl is ineligible to receive First Step Act credits under 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D)(lxvi).
- No leadership- or organizer-role finding was required because Payne's ineligibility arose under § 3632(d)(4)(D)(lxvi), not the separate provision governing certain offenses involving lesser amounts of fentanyl.
- A § 2241 habeas petition that plainly fails to establish entitlement to relief may be summarily dismissed, and Payne's petition was denied and dismissed with prejudice.
Key quotations
“it plainly appears from the face of the petition and any exhibits annexed to it that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court.” (at 2)
“Accordingly, the Court DENIES and DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the petition for a writ of habeas corpus.” (at 6)
Factual background
Payne is a federal prisoner confined at the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan. He pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Ohio to possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(vi), and received a 132-month sentence. The Bureau of Prisons determined that his offense of conviction made him categorically ineligible to earn credits under the First Step Act. Payne argued that the BOP improperly treated him as ineligible because there was no evidence that he was a leader or organizer of the offense.
Procedural history
Payne exhausted his administrative remedies within the Bureau of Prisons and filed a § 2241 petition in the Eastern District of Michigan. After preliminary screening under Rule 4, the court determined that the petition failed to establish entitlement to relief because Payne's offense of conviction independently made him ineligible for First Step Act credits. The court denied and dismissed the petition with prejudice and closed the case.