Pope v. Perdue
889 F.3d 410
| 7th Cir. | 2018Background
- Jermel Pope was arrested by Illinois on Feb 8, 2008; later federally indicted for the same conduct and sentenced in federal court to 100 months on June 10, 2009; Illinois sentenced him to 5 years on Aug 24, 2009.
- On Aug 31, 2009 Illinois transferred Pope to federal custody (he stayed 268 days in a BOP facility) without a writ ad prosequendum; he was returned to state custody May 25, 2010.
- Illinois paroled Pope on Aug 6, 2010 and then turned him over to federal authorities; the BOP treated Aug 6, 2010 as the federal sentence start date and denied concurrent (retroactive) designation and credit for time Illinois had credited.
- Pope exhausted administrative remedies and filed a § 2241 habeas petition in 2014; the district court granted partial relief (30 days credit) and denied other claims; Pope appealed.
- By the time of appeal oral argument Pope was released to supervised release; the Government moved to dismiss as moot; the Seventh Circuit reviewed mootness and the merits de novo.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Pope's federal sentence commenced Aug 31, 2009 (when transferred to federal custody) or Aug 6, 2010 (BOP's date) | Pope: United States exercised primary custody Aug 31, 2009; statutory start under §3585(a) therefore that date | Gov: Illinois retained primary custody until parole Aug 6, 2010; BOP's start date correct | Held: Aug 31, 2009 is commencement date; Illinois relinquished primary custody on transfer and §3585(a) met |
| Whether BOP abused discretion by denying retroactive designation so federal term would run concurrent with state term | Pope: BOP improperly inferred district court silence meant consecutive terms; Setser prohibits that inference | Gov: BOP's consideration of court statements and silence was reasonable | Held: BOP abused its discretion; cannot infer concurrence from court silence for defendants sentenced after state sentence was imposed (Setser) |
| Whether BOP must credit time Pope served pre-state-sentence against federal term under §3585(b) | Pope: Pre‑state custody should be credited to federal sentence | Gov: Illinois already credited the time against the state sentence so federal credit barred by §3585(b) | Held: BOP's denial of credit was lawful; record supports that Illinois had credited time served |
| Mootness: Does Pope's release to supervised release render §2241 petition moot? | Pope: No — he remains in custody on supervised release and could obtain relief (e.g., §3583(e) reduction) | Gov: Case moot because he is no longer incarcerated | Held: Not moot; supervised release is custody and a favorable ruling could meaningfully benefit Pope |
Key Cases Cited
- Ponzi v. Fessenden, 258 U.S. 254 (primary-custody doctrine governs which sovereign's custody controls sentence commencement)
- Setser v. United States, 566 U.S. 231 (BOP may not infer concurrence from sentencing court silence when state sentence is later imposed)
- United States v. Johnson, 529 U.S. 53 (a sentencing-court finding of overincarceration carries great weight in §3583(e) motions)
- Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs., 528 U.S. 167 (party asserting mootness bears heavy burden)
- Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1 (distinguishable mootness rule where sentence fully expired)
- Brown v. Caraway, 719 F.3d 583 (standard of review: de novo for §2241 appeals)