United States v. Williams, 3:12-cr-00065

Ahmad Williams was arrested by Jackson police in April 2011 after shooting a detective and was held in state custody on related state charges.
In June 2012 federal authorities indicted Williams for being a felon in possession of a firearm and obtained custody to prosecute him; Williams pleaded guilty in December 2012 and was sentenced in March 2013 to 97 months.
Before and at sentencing, state and federal judges made recommendations that Williams serve his state sentence in federal custody and that the federal sentence run concurrent with the state sentence; this produced confusion about where he should be housed.
After federal sentencing the U.S. Marshal returned Williams to Mississippi state custody to serve the state sentence; the federal sentence was to run concurrently.
Williams moved in federal court to be transferred from state custody to federal custody to serve his federal sentence immediately.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Williams must be transferred to federal custody immediately to serve his federal sentence	Williams argues federal sentencing and judicial recommendations require transfer to federal custody	Government contends state had primary custody and Williams was properly returned to state custody after federal proceedings	Denied — state retained primary jurisdiction; Williams was "on loan" to federal authorities and properly returned to state custody
Effect of state court order directing state sentence be served in federal custody	Williams relies on state court direction as binding authorization for federal custody	Government and court argue state court recommendation is not binding on Marshals or BOP	Court held state court direction is only a recommendation and not binding on federal authorities
Who controls designation, timing, and location of federal incarceration	Williams points to federal court recommendation about facility and concurrency	Government points to BOP/Marshals authority over designation, commencement, and location of federal sentences	Court held BOP (not courts) determines where and when federal sentence is served; judicial recommendations are considered only if/when BOP takes custody

United States v. Cole, 416 F.3d 894 (8th Cir.) (primary jurisdiction belongs to sovereign that first obtains custody; transfer to other sovereign is a temporary "loan")
Causey v. Civiletti, 621 F.2d 691 (5th Cir.) (state remains primary custodian when defendant in state custody is turned over to federal authorities; defendant returned after federal proceedings)
Leal v. Tombone, 341 F.3d 427 (5th Cir.) (state court directions about custody are recommendations and not binding on federal custodial authorities)
United States v. Cibrian, [citation="374 F. App'x 524"] (5th Cir.) (Bureau of Prisons controls where, when, and how federal sentences are served; multi-jurisdictional sentencing is often confusing)