Finch v. Warden

Background

Douglas Robert Finch, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging the Bureau of Prisons’ determination about when he became eligible to earn federal time credits under the First Step Act of 2018. Those credits can count toward release from custody or earlier placement in prerelease custody when a prisoner participates in evidence-based recidivism-reduction programming or productive activities.

Finch was sentenced to 135 months of imprisonment on June 5, 2023. He arrived at the Federal Correctional Institution in Gilmer, Texas, on August 9, 2023, and began his first risk-and-needs assessment period that day. The Bureau of Prisons treated August 9 as the date he became eligible to earn credits. Finch argued that eligibility began on his sentencing date. He had completed coursework at the Sherburne County Jail before sentencing, but he did not participate in evidence-based recidivism-reduction programming or productive activities between sentencing and his arrival at the designated Bureau of Prisons facility.

Report and Recommendation and Objections

Magistrate Judge John F. Docherty recommended denying Finch’s petition. After the recommendation was resent because the first copy was returned as undeliverable following Finch’s transfer, Finch timely filed objections. The court reviewed the objected-to portions of the recommendation afresh and reviewed the remaining portions for clear error.

Analysis

The court recognized that a federal prisoner may use § 2241 to challenge the execution of a sentence, including the duration of confinement and a request for earlier release. It considered Finch’s argument that the First Step Act and the statute governing when a sentence begins required the Bureau of Prisons to allow him to earn credits starting June 5, 2023.

The court noted that the First Step Act bars earning credits for qualifying programming completed during official detention before the sentence begins, but does not affirmatively guarantee that credit-earning eligibility begins on the sentence’s commencement date. The court also concluded that a prisoner must complete qualifying programming or activities to earn credits, and that the Bureau of Prisons must conduct a risk-and-needs assessment to determine appropriate programming and address the prisoner’s specific needs.

Because Finch’s first assessment period began on August 9, 2023, the Bureau of Prisons could not know before then which programming was appropriate for him. In addition, Finch offered no evidence that he completed qualifying programming or activities between June 5 and August 9. The court also held that the pre-sentencing coursework could not qualify because it was completed before his sentence began.

Disposition

The court overruled Finch’s objections, adopted the Report and Recommendation, denied Finch’s petition for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, and dismissed the matter. The order did not state that the dismissal was with or without prejudice.