Ford v. Fikes
- Paul Magnuson
- 0:20-cv-00238
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
Ford v. Fikes: Judge Magnuson denied Ford’s petition challenging his sentence and hearing request, finding the sentence-calculation claim contrary to federal law and dismissing the matter with prejudice.
DeJuan Ford’s sentence challenge and request for an evidentiary hearing were denied, and his case was dismissed with prejudice; the order also adopted the recommendation concerning Warden Fikes.
What happened
In Ford v. Fikes, DeJuan Ford challenged how his sentence was calculated and asked the court to hold an evidentiary hearing.
A magistrate judge recommended denying both requests and dismissing the case with prejudice. Ford did not object before the deadline, so he gave up specific review of the recommendation.
Judge Paul A. Magnuson adopted the recommendation, denied the petition and hearing request, and dismissed the matter with prejudice. The judge agreed that Ford’s sentence-calculation claim was contrary to federal law.
The detailed version
- Ford v. Fikes · No. 0:20-cv-00238
- Paul Magnuson
- Aug. 3, 2020
Background
DeJuan Ford filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a court challenge to the legality of a person’s custody or sentence. He argued that his sentence had been calculated incorrectly and separately requested an evidentiary hearing.
United States Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that the court deny both the petition and the hearing request and dismiss the matter with prejudice. Ford did not object to the recommendation, and the deadline for doing so had passed.
Court’s analysis
Because Ford did not make specific objections, the court stated that he waived de novo review, meaning a fresh review, of the recommendation. The court nevertheless said that, even if Ford had objected, it agreed with the recommendation that his sentence-calculation claim was contrary to federal law, citing 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b).
Ruling
Judge Paul A. Magnuson adopted the Report and Recommendation. The court denied Ford’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, denied his request for an evidentiary hearing, and dismissed the matter with prejudice. The court directed that judgment be entered accordingly.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.