Harper v. Warden of FCI Waseca

Background

Kelly Harper, a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institution in Waseca, Minnesota, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 without a lawyer. She alleged that the Bureau of Prisons had failed to award her time credits under the First Step Act of 2018. She also alleged sexual and mental abuse, inadequate cancer and dental treatment, mold and other intolerable physical conditions, and cruel and unusual punishment related to her placement in a restricted unit.

Harper separately filed two motions to grant her detention petition, two motions to expedite consideration of that petition, and a motion concerning a compassionate-release request that she had filed with the court that sentenced her. The court reviewed the petition under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases, which requires dismissal when it plainly appears that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court.

First Step Act Time Credits

The court denied Harper’s claim concerning First Step Act time credits. Harper did not expressly state how many credits she believed she was owed. Assuming she was claiming 10 or 15 days of credit for each of four completed courses, the court held that the Bureau of Prisons had reasonably determined that prisoners receive credit for each month of programming in which they participate, rather than for each course they complete. The court deferred to that interpretation and concluded that Harper was not entitled to habeas relief on that basis.

Conditions-of-Confinement Claims

The court treated Harper’s allegations about abuse, medical and dental care, prison conditions, and restricted housing as challenges to the conditions of her confinement. It held that those claims were not properly brought under Section 2241 because they did not challenge the validity of her conviction or the length of her detention. The court explained that such claims must instead be brought in a civil-rights proceeding, under either 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or the legal framework recognized in Bivens for certain claims against federal officials.

The court declined to convert the claims automatically into a civil complaint. It explained that doing so would subject Harper to consequences under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, including payment of the full filing fee, preliminary screening, and possible filing restrictions. Within 30 days, Harper was permitted to file an amended pleading styled as a civil-rights complaint. If she did not do so, her remaining claims would be dismissed without prejudice.

Other Motions and Disposition

The court denied as moot Harper’s two motions to grant the Section 2241 petition and her two motions to expedite consideration of that petition. It denied her motion concerning compassionate release because that request belonged with the sentencing court and was not properly part of this case.

Judge Eric C. Tostrud ordered that the petition be denied in part as to the First Step Act claim. The order also allowed Harper to file an amended civil-rights pleading within 30 days; otherwise, the matter would be dismissed without prejudice.