Allegra v. Hemingway, 2:21-cv-11143

Petitioner Robert Allegra pled guilty in the N.D. Illinois to attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 65 months (sentenced July 19, 2017; projected release March 27, 2022).
He did not appeal; a §2255 motion alleging ineffective assistance was denied and his appeal was dismissed for failure to file required documents.
In April 2021 Allegra filed a §2241 petition: (1) challenging his conviction (actual innocence, fabricated evidence, entrapment, involuntary plea; ineffective assistance) and (2) seeking application of First Step Act time credits to shorten his term.
The BOP records show Allegra had not completed evidence-based recidivism-reduction programs as of July 27, 2021, and thus had no earned time credits; Allegra’s contrary assertions were unsupported.
The Court excused Allegra’s failure to exhaust BOP administrative remedies because release was imminent, but proceeded to the merits.
The Court denied the §2241 petition: (a) conviction/sentence challenges cannot proceed under §2241 because Allegra did not meet the narrow §2255 savings-clause standard; (b) Allegra is not entitled to First Step Act credits (BOP not required to apply credits before the statutory phase-in deadline and he had no earned credits).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
1. Whether challenges to conviction/sentence may proceed under §2241 via §2255 savings clause	Allegra: §2255 is inadequate/ineffective; actual innocence	Gov: §2241 is not an alternative to §2255; petitioner bears burden to show savings-clause applies	Denied—Allegra did not satisfy the narrow savings-clause grounds; conviction/sentencing claims belong in §2255 proceedings
2. Whether Allegra’s failure to exhaust BOP administrative remedies bars §2241	Allegra: could not complete exhaustion before imminent release; sought relief administratively	Gov: Allegra did not complete BP-9/BP-10/BP-11 filings and failed to exhaust	Excused—the Court waived exhaustion due to impracticability given imminent release and proceeded to merits
3. Whether Allegra is entitled to First Step Act earned time credits	Allegra: he accrued hundreds of days of credits and should have been released earlier	Gov: BOP not required to apply credits before completion of statutory phase-in; case manager found Allegra earned no credits	Denied—majority view that BOP need not apply credits before phase-in (Jan 15, 2022) and Allegra had no earned credits as of record date
4. Whether Allegra is held beyond imposed sentence (due process claim)	Allegra: being held beyond sentence because credits not applied	Gov: no constitutional violation because no credits were earned/applied	Denied—no custody violation shown; no entitlement to credits under the record

Hill v. Masters, 836 F.3d 591 (6th Cir. 2016) (§2255 savings-clause standard for using §2241)
Charles v. Chandler, 180 F.3d 753 (6th Cir. 1999) (§2241 is not an alternative to §2255)
Wright v. Spaulding, 939 F.3d 695 (6th Cir. 2019) (actual-innocence gateway requires no prior reasonable opportunity to raise claim)
Wooten v. Cauley, 677 F.3d 303 (6th Cir. 2012) (distinguishing custody/manner-of-execution claims under §2241)
Bousley v. United States, 523 U.S. 614 (1998) (standard for establishing actual innocence)
Martin v. Perez, 391 F.3d 799 (6th Cir. 2004) (court must consider all available evidence in actual-innocence review)
United States v. Peterman, 249 F.3d 458 (6th Cir. 2001) (circumstances where §2255 is inadequate are narrow)
Luedtke v. Berkebile, 704 F.3d 465 (6th Cir. 2013) (administrative-exhaustion requirement for §2241)
Fazzini v. Northeast Ohio Corr. Ctr., 473 F.3d 229 (6th Cir. 2006) (exhaustion may be excused when futile or ineffective)
United States v. Allegra, 187 F. Supp. 3d 918 (N.D. Ill. 2015) (district-court decision on related suppression/plea issues cited in record)