Terrance Alden v. Warden Allenwood , 444 F. App'x 514 ( 2011 )

DLD-270 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 11-1407
___________
TERRANCE K. ALDEN,
Appellant
v.
WARDEN, U.S. PENITENTIARY ALLENWOOD;
UNITED STATES PAROLE COMMISSION
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civil No. 3-10-cv-02381)
District Judge: Honorable Edwin M. Kosik
____________________________________
Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)
or Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
August 18, 2011
Before: FISHER, BARRY and VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judges.
(Filed: September 9, 2011)
_________
OPINION
_________
PER CURIAM
Terrance Alden, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, appeals the denial of his
habeas corpus petition. We will summarily affirm the judgment of the District Court.
Alden, a federal prisoner currently incarcerated at USP Allenwood in White Deer,
Pennsylvania, is serving a lengthy federal sentence stemming from, inter alia, a series of
bank robberies.1 In 2009, he filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition, claiming that various
actions by the United States Parole Commission (“USPC”) violated the Constitution, the
USPC‟s enabling statute, and parole regulations. The petition, filed originally in the
Middle District of Pennsylvania,2 was eventually docketed in the United States District
Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at docket number 5:09-cv-00076. The
USPC moved to dismiss the petition or, in the alternative, for summary judgment in the
USPC‟s favor. Magistrate Judge David J. Joel agreed with the USPC, crafting a lengthy
Report and Recommendation (R&R) that recommended denying all of the claims on the
merits. See generally Alden v. U.S. Parole Comm‟n, No. 5:09-cv-00076, 2010 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 29744 (N.D. W. Va. Feb. 26, 2010). In addition, the R&R contained a warning
that a failure to timely object would result in a waiver of appellate rights. Id. at *23.
Alden objected, but did not do so in a timely fashion; however, in its detailed
memorandum opinion adopting the R&R and denying Alden‟s claims on the merits, the
1
See United States v. Alden, 576 F.2d 772, 774-75 (8th Cir. 1978) (describing the
somewhat colorful history of the “Bionic Bandit”); see also United States v. Alden, 776
F.2d 771, 772 (8th Cir. 1985) (direct appeal from charge relating to attempted escape
from prison); United States v. Alden, 767 F.2d 314, 316 (7th Cir. 1984) (same). Alden
committed these offenses after escaping from a New Jersey prison, where he was serving
two life sentences for the murder of an armored car guard during a robbery. Alden, 576
F.2d at 775 n.3. The New Jersey sentences are not before this Court.
2
See M.D. Pa. Civ. No. 3:09-cv-01211.
2
District Court observed that the objections would not have changed the outcome of the
case. Alden v. U.S. Parole Comm‟n, No. 5:09-cv-00076, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29755,
at *5 n.3 (N.D. W. Va. Mar. 26, 2010).
Several months later, in September 2010, Alden filed a second § 2241 petition,
again attacking parole decisions. He charged that the previous District Court
adjudication had failed to address certain constitutional claims, such as the alleged
violation of his First Amendment rights by the USPC. Filed originally in the Middle
District of Pennsylvania,3 the petition was transferred to the Western District of
Oklahoma.4 Determining the petition to be an abuse of the writ, and finding that the
previous District Court adjudication did not fail to address the aforementioned
constitutional claims, the Magistrate Judge recommended dismissing the petition. Alden
v. U.S. Parole Comm‟n, No. CIV-10-975, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41916, at *8–13 (W.D.
Okla. Jan. 24, 2011). The District Court concurred. Alden v. U.S. Parole Comm‟n, No.
CIV-10-975, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41900, at *4-5 (W.D. Okla. Apr. 18, 2011).
While the Oklahoma action was pending, Alden filed a third § 2241 petition, the
subject of the present action. He again raised claims against the USPC, challenging, inter
alia, the USPC‟s “misapplication” of certain regulations, the validity of his 1980s-era
3
See M.D. Pa. Civ. No. 3:10-cv-01862.
4
It appears that both of Alden‟s prior petitions were transferred to the District in
which he was serving his sentence at the time his petition was processed. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 2241(d).
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parole waiver, failure to deliver timely notice of USPC decisions, and actions taken that
violated his constitutional rights; he also attacked the outcome of his earlier, West
Virginia petition, describing it as contravening the “Prisoner Mailbox Rule” while
simultaneously failing to address several of his claims. This third petition was
successfully docketed in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Taking judicial notice of
the West Virginia petition – but not the Oklahoma petition – the District Court sua sponte
dismissed this action as an abuse of the writ. Alden filed a motion to alter or amend the
judgment5 and a timely notice of appeal.
We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. In reviewing the denial of a
28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition, we “exercise plenary review over the District Court‟s legal
conclusions and apply a clearly erroneous standard to its findings of fact.” See O‟Donald
v. Johns, 402 F.3d 172, 173 n.1 (3d Cir. 2005); see also United States v. Friedland, 83
F.3d 1531, 1542 (3d Cir. 1996) (“Our review of the district court‟s order denying . . .
relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 is plenary.”). 28 U.S.C. § 2241 is a proper vehicle for
challenging federal parole decisions. Furnari v. U.S. Parole Comm‟n, 531 F.3d 241, 255
(3d Cir. 2008); Coady v. Vaughn, 251 F.3d 480, 485 (3d Cir. 2001). “[A]buse-of-the-
writ doctrine applies to section 2241 petitions; thus, a petitioner may not raise new claims
that could have been resolved in a previous action.” Queen v. Miner, 530 F.3d 253, 255
5
This motion was denied on June 16, 2011, but as Alden has not complied with
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(4)(B)(ii), which requires the filing of either a
new or amended notice of appeal, it is not before us. See United States v. McGlory, 202
F.3d 664, 668 (3d Cir. 2000).
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(3d Cir. 2008). A petitioner may justify his prior omission by showing cause and
prejudice for his failure to earlier raise a claim. In re Minarik, 166 F.3d 591, 600 (3d Cir.
1999). And “[i]n a case in which a successive petition includes a claim for relief already
fully considered and rejected . . . the petitioner [must] show that „the ends of justice‟
would be served by the court entertaining his petition.” Funari, 531 F.3d at 251.
As a preliminary matter, the District Court may have erred in dismissing the
petition sua sponte for abuse of the writ without giving Alden prior notice and an
opportunity to respond. See Lamp v. Iowa, 122 F.3d 1100, 1106 (8th Cir. 1997); Femia
v. United States, 47 F.3d 519, 524–25 (2d Cir. 1995) (holding that notice is required
when a claim in a successive petition may demonstrate actual prejudice, or where the lack
of actual prejudice “is not clearly manifest from the record”); see also McCleskey v.
Zant, 499 U.S. 467, 494 (1991) (“When a prisoner files a second or subsequent
application, the government bears the burden of pleading abuse of the writ.”). But such
an error would, regardless, be of no consequence, for Alden has had numerous
opportunities to justify his writ, both below and on appeal; any error would therefore be
harmless. Stanko v. Davis, 617 F.3d 1262, 1271 (10th Cir. 2010) (applying harmless
error analysis to sua sponte dismissal when the petitioner had other opportunities to plead
validity of his petition).
We are otherwise in full accord with the District Court. Alden has twice before
raised these exact claims or their close cousins. In West Virginia, his claims received an
extensive merits analysis, while in Oklahoma, the District Court addressed his concerns
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regarding an alleged failure to “resolve” claims in the first petition. Of course, we do not
sit in review of either of those courts; all the same, Alden cannot plausibly claim that his
arguments have gone unanswered and unaddressed. To the extent that his current petition
raises new claims, Alden has not justified his prior omission by showing cause or
prejudice. To the extent that this petition raises claims already adjudicated, as is
primarily the case, Alden has failed to show that reconsideration is mandated by an
appeal to the ends of justice. Finally, whatever procedural errors may have been
committed by the prior courts to address these claims, this forum is not the proper venue
in which to address them.
In sum, Alden‟s current petition is barred as an abuse of the writ. As the appeal
presents no substantial question, we will summarily affirm the decision of the District
Court. Murray v. Bledsoe, ___ F.3d ___, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 11702, at *3 (3d Cir.
June 10, 2011, No. 10-4397); see also Third Cir. L.A.R. 27.4; I.O.P. 10.6.
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