Kenneth R. Smith v. Federal Bureau of Prisons

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois dismissed without prejudice Kenneth R. Smith’s petition seeking placement in a residential re-entry center. The court held that the requested relief was not cognizable under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and that, even if construed as an Administrative Procedure Act claim, Smith failed to exhaust Bureau of Prisons administrative remedies before filing suit.

Holdings

1. A challenge seeking placement in a Residential Re-entry Center, rather than a change in the fact or duration of confinement, is a challenge to the conditions or location of custody and is not cognizable under § 2241.
2. Smith could not obtain relief under the APA because he filed suit before completing the BOP's administrative-remedy process.
3. The Court granted the motion to substitute Joseph Wadas as respondent.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a federal prisoner's challenge to the timing or fact of Residential Re-entry Center placement is cognizable in a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241.
2. Whether Smith could proceed under the Administrative Procedure Act when he had not completed the BOP's administrative-remedy process before filing suit.

Disposition

dismissed