Felix-Razo v. Rardin
- David Doty
- 0:24-cv-02186
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 5
In Felix-Razo v. Rardin, Magistrate Judge Leung recommended denying Felix-Razo’s request for 236 days of federal sentence credit.
Alexis Felix-Razo, whose request for 236 days of prior-custody credit was recommended for denial, and the Bureau of Prisons, whose 234-day calculation was upheld in the recommendation.
What happened
Alexis Felix-Razo, who represented himself, asked the federal court to credit 236 days he spent detained in Mexico before being extradited to the United States. He filed the petition under a federal law allowing prisoners to challenge how their sentences are carried out.
The federal prison agency initially credited Felix-Razo with 451 days of prior custody. It later added 234 days for his detention in Mexico, counting the detention as beginning March 29, 2022, and excluding November 18 because that day had already been credited. Felix-Razo argued that the detention began March 28 and that he was therefore owed 236 days.
Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung recommended denying the petition. He concluded that Felix-Razo was not entitled to credit for March 28 because he was not detained until March 29, and that he could not receive credit again for November 18. The report also concluded that no evidentiary hearing was necessary.
The detailed version
- Felix-Razo v. Rardin · No. 0:24-cv-02186
- David Doty
- Oct. 25, 2024
Background
Alexis Felix-Razo filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging the calculation of his federal prison sentence. He argued that 236 days he spent detained in Mexico while awaiting extradition should be applied to that sentence. Felix-Razo was serving a 46-month sentence for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. He represented himself.
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) initially applied 451 days of prior-custody credit for detention from November 18, 2022, through February 11, 2024. The BOP later determined that Felix-Razo’s time detained in Mexico should also be credited. According to the BOP, that detention ran from March 29, 2022, through November 18, 2022. Because November 18 had already been credited, the BOP added 234 days and calculated a new projected First Step Act release date of June 3, 2025.
Parties’ positions
Felix-Razo argued that his Mexican detention began on March 28, 2022, and therefore sought 236 days of credit. The respondent argued that the BOP had credited all the prior custody credit to which Felix-Razo was entitled and asked the court to deny the petition.
Analysis
Under 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b), a prisoner may receive credit toward a federal sentence for qualifying official detention before the sentence begins, so long as that time has not been credited against another sentence. The opinion explains that a prisoner may not receive double credit for the same period.
The report concluded that Felix-Razo could not receive credit for March 28 because the record showed that he was not detained in Mexico until March 29. It also concluded that he could not receive credit for November 18 a second time because the BOP had already credited that date. Based on the record and the applicable law, Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung concluded that the BOP correctly awarded 234 days rather than the 236 days requested.
Recommendation and procedure
The report and recommendation recommended that Felix-Razo’s § 2241 petition be denied. It also concluded that an evidentiary hearing was unnecessary because the record resolved the dispute. The document states that it was not itself an order or judgment of the District Court and was not directly appealable to the Eighth Circuit. It allowed the parties 14 days after service to file specific written objections, with responses due within 14 days after service of any objections.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.