Craig Shults v. Brian Birkholz, 2:22-cv-07273

Petitioner Craig Shults, a federal inmate proceeding pro se, filed a § 2241 petition seeking application of 630 earned time credits (ETCs) under the First Step Act (FSA) to obtain immediate transfer to a BOP halfway house.
BOP confirmed Shults has earned 630 ETCs; BOP applied the statutory maximum 365 ETCs to advance his supervised-release (FSA) release date to April 21, 2024 (from April 21, 2025 without ETCs).
The remaining 265 ETCs could, in principle, be applied to prerelease custody (halfway house), but statutory eligibility requires earned credits to equal the remainder of the inmate’s imposed term before such application (18 U.S.C. § 3624(g)(1)(A)).
As of Nov. 17, 2022, after accounting for good-conduct time (GCT), Shults still had 886 days until his GCT release and 521 days until his FSA release; thus the additional 265 ETCs were not yet equal to the remainder and could not be applied.
Shults relied on his BOP case manager’s recommendation (271–365 days prerelease) to argue immediate transfer and sought bail pending the petition; the magistrate judge rejected that reasoning, holding the BOP’s custody placement is discretionary and the statutory eligibility rule controls.
The magistrate judge recommended denying the petition and bail and dismissing the action with prejudice.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Shults’s 630 ETCs entitle him to immediate transfer to prerelease custody (halfway house)	Shults: 630 ETCs (including 265 beyond the 365 applied to supervised release) plus case manager recommendation should produce immediate halfway-house placement	BOP: Only up to 365 ETCs may advance supervised release; remaining ETCs apply to prerelease custody only once credits equal the remainder of the imposed term per § 3624(g)(1)(A)	Held: Denied — remaining 265 ETCs cannot yet be applied because they do not equal the remainder of the sentence
Whether the court can enforce the BOP case manager’s recommendation or order immediate placement	Shults: Case manager recommended 271–365 prerelease days, so BOP should implement transfer now	BOP: Case manager recommendations are discretionary; designation/placement decisions are committed to BOP and not reviewable by the court	Held: Denied — BOP placement decisions are discretionary and nonreviewable under Reeb and § 3621(b)
Whether bail pending adjudication should be granted	Shults: Bail pending resolution because credits entitle him to immediate prerelease custody	BOP: Statutory scheme and current credit calculation preclude immediate release; bail unnecessary	Held: Denied as moot along with the petition

Reeb v. Thomas, 636 F.3d 1224 (9th Cir. 2011) (BOP discretionary placement decisions are not reviewable by courts)
Roberts v. Marshall, 627 F.3d 768 (9th Cir. 2010) (mailbox rule for pro se prisoner filings)
Harrison v. Ollison, 519 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 2008) (clarifying certificate of appealability requirements for § 2241 federal prisoners)