Esteban Rivera-Lebron v. Monica Rectenwald , 525 F. App'x 113 ( 2013 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 13-1028
___________
ESTEBAN RIVERA-LEBRON,
Appellant
v.
WARDEN MONICA RECTENWALD
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civil Action No. 3-12-cv-01354)
District Judge: Honorable Robert D. Mariani
____________________________________
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
May 3, 2013
Before: SCIRICA, JORDAN and COWEN, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: May 3, 2013)
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OPINION
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PER CURIAM
Esteban Rivera-Lebron appeals pro se from the District Court’s order denying his
petition for a writ of habeas corpus. We will affirm.
I.
On November 20, 2008, an officer at the Federal Correctional Institution at Miami
discovered a five-inch homemade knife behind Rivera-Lebron’s bed, which was located
in a dorm that Rivera-Lebron shared with five other inmates. 1 Rivera-Lebron was
charged with the possession or manufacturing of a weapon in violation of the Inmate
Discipline Program. At his hearing, Rivera-Lebron argued he did not have constructive
possession of the knife. However, the Discipline Hearing Officer (“DHO”) determined
that Rivera-Lebron committed the prohibited act and sanctioned Rivera-Lebron to 45
days in disciplinary segregation, as well as the disallowance of 41 days of good conduct
time, the forfeiture of 27 days of non-vested good conduct time, and a recommended
disciplinary transfer.
Rivera-Lebron timely sought administrative review of the DHO’s findings. After
the Regional Office denied his appeal on February 27, 2009, it gave Rivera-Lebron 30
days to appeal to the Central Office. Rivera-Lebron did not file an appeal with the
Central Office until February 18, 2010.
Rivera-Lebron then filed the instant petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, arguing that
the DHO lacked sufficient evidence to sanction him for possessing the knife. The
District Court denied his petition on the merits, finding that the DHO’s sanctions were
supported by some evidence on the record. The District Court also noted that Rivera-
Lebron failed to exhaust the prison’s administrative remedy scheme. Rivera-Lebron
timely appealed.
1
Rivera-Lebron is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution at Allenwood,
2
II.
We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253. A challenge to a
disciplinary action resulting in the loss of good conduct time is properly brought pursuant
to section 2241, “as the action could affect the duration of the petitioner’s sentence.”
Queen v. Miner, 530 F.3d 253, 254 n.2 (3d Cir. 2008) (per curiam). We review the
denial of habeas corpus relief de novo, exercising plenary review over the District
Court’s legal conclusions and applying a clearly erroneous standard to its findings of fact.
Vega v. United States, 493 F.3d 310, 314 (3d Cir. 2007).
A. Rivera-Lebron’s failure to exhaust administrative remedies
Federal prisoners are ordinarily required to exhaust available administrative
remedies before seeking relief under section 2241. Moscato v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons,
98 F.3d 757, 760 (3d Cir. 1996). To exhaust, petitioners must satisfy the procedural
requirements of the administrative remedy process. 2 Id. at 761-62. Here, Rivera-Lebron
pursued administrative remedies but failed to comply with required procedures.
Although he filed a timely appeal to the Regional Office, he did not timely appeal to the
Central Office. As he did not comply with the procedural requirements of the
administrative remedy process, we agree with the District Court that Rivera-Lebron’s
claim was unexhausted. See id.B. Rivera-Lebron’s due process claim
in Pennsylvania.
2
See 28 C.F.R. §§ 542.13–15; Garza v. Davis, 596 F.3d 1198, 1204 (10th Cir. 2010).
3
Even if Rivera-Lebron’s claim was properly exhausted, we agree with the District
Court that his claim lacks merit. A prisoner has a liberty interest in good time credit.
Young v. Kann, 926 F.2d 1396, 1399 (3d Cir. 1991). “[R]evocation of good time does
not comport with the minimum requirements of procedural due process unless the
findings of the prison disciplinary board are supported by some evidence in the record.”
Superintendent v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445, 454 (1985) (internal quotation marks and citation
omitted). The Hill standard is minimal and does not require examination of the entire
record, an independent assessment of the credibility of witnesses, or even a weighing of
the evidence. See Thompson v. Owens, 889 F.2d 500, 502 (3d Cir. 1989) (citing Hill,
472 U.S. at 455-56). The relevant inquiry is whether “there is any evidence in the record
that could support the conclusion reached by the disciplinary board.” Hill, 472 U.S. at
455-56.
Rivera-Lebron argued that there was insufficient evidence to support the
disciplinary charge of possession or manufacturing of a weapon, because the weapon was
found in a room that Rivera-Lebron shared with five other inmates. 3 The officer who
found the knife initially reported that the knife was located behind the leg of Rivera-
Lebron’s bed, but later clarified that it was inside the bed’s leg. Rivera-Lebron believes
that the officer’s clarification was false testimony used to prove that Rivera-Lebron
3
It is undisputed that Rivera-Lebron was provided with (1) written notice of the charge
on the same day of the incident report, (2) an opportunity to call witnesses and present
evidence in his defense, and (3) a written statement of the evidence relied on and the
reasons for the disciplinary action. See Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 563-66
(1974).
4
constructively possessed the knife. However, the “some evidence” standard may be
satisfied by application of the constructive possession doctrine where a small number of
inmates are potentially guilty of the offense charged. See White v. Kane, 860 F. Supp.
1075, 1079 n.5 (E.D. Pa. 1994), aff’d, 52 F.3d 319 (3d Cir. 1995). Rivera-Lebron was
one of few inmates with access to the dorm room, and the knife was found in or near his
bed. As the District Court concluded, the Bureau of Prisons had some evidence to
sanction Rivera-Lebron for the possession or manufacturing of the knife.
Accordingly, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.
5