Whitfield v. Sproul ( 2024 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS LANDON A. WHITFIELD Petitioner, v. Case No. 3:23-cv-02687-JPG DANIEL SPROUL Respondent. MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter comes before the Court on a petition for writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1) under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. On August 3, 2023, Landon A. Whitfield—an inmate at United States Penitentiary Marion—filed this § 2241 petition pro se. The petitioner claims he has been improperly denied First Step Act time credit and has exhausted all administrative remedies. Id. The Court concludes that the § 2241 petition survives preliminary review and orders the Warden to respond on or before March 15, 2024. An inmate may challenge the fact or duration of their confinement under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 490 (1973). This includes claims for improper sentence computation under 18 U.S.C. §§ 3584 and 3585. See Pope v. Perdue, 889 F.3d 410 (7th Cir. 2018). Under the First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, (FSA) “eligible inmates earn FSA Time Credits toward prerelease custody or early transfer to supervised release for successfully completing approved Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction (EBRR) Programs or Productive Activities (PAs).” 28 C.F.R. § 523, 541 (2022). Because FSA Time Credits may reduce an inmate’s sentence, the Court finds that an improper FSA Time Credit calculation is challengeable as an improper sentence calculation under Pope v. Perdue, 889 F.3d at 410. Without commenting on the merits of the petitioner’s claims, it is not plainly apparent that the petitioner is not entitled to habeas relief. Therefore, the Court concludes that the petition survives preliminary review under Rule 4. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Warden shall respond on or before March 15, 2024. This order does not preclude the respondent from raising any defenses or objections they may wish to raise. Service upon the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois—750 Missouri Avenue, 3rd Floor, East St. Louis, Illinois 62201—shall constitute sufficient service. The Court observes that the petitioner filed a notice of change of address after being relocated to Federal Correctional Institution Oxford, in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The petitioner is ADVISED of his continuing obligation to keep the Clerk and opposing parties informed of any change in his whereabouts while this action is pending. Any notification must be in writing no later than 7 days after a transfer or other change in address. Failure to provide notice may result in dismissal of this action. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b). IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: February 8, 2024 s/ J. Phil Gilbert J. PHIL GILBERT DISTRICT JUDGE