# Petition for Writ of Certiorari — White v. Hobart > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/brief%3Amicro_IA40386007_0864%3A1 ## Record - **Collection:** Supreme Court brief - **Document type:** Petition for Writ of Certiorari - **Published:** January 1, 2005 - **Citation:** 545 U.S. 1116 ## Text ee, Supreme Court, U.S. A 041494 MAY 6 - 2005 = —OPFICE OF Iie CLERK In The Supreme Court of the United States , sf YANCEY L. WHITE, Petitioner, V. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent. £ vv On Petition For Writ Of Certiorari To The United States Court Of Appeals For The Seventh Circuit ry v PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI , vv DEAN A. STRANG Counsel of Record THOMAS G. WILMOUTH BRIAN T. FAHL FEDERAL DEFENDER SERVICES OF WISCONSIN, INC. 517 East Wisconsin Avenue Suite 182 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 [414] 221-9900 COCKLE LAW BRIEF PRINTING CO. (800) 225-6964 OR CALL COLLECT (402) 342-2831 QUESTION PRESENTED The federal statute on credit for good conduct in prison, 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b)(1), provides in relevant part: a prisoner who is serving a term of imprisonment of more than one year, other than a term of im- prisonment for the duration of a prisoner’s life, may receive credit toward the service of the pris- oner’s sentence, beyond the time served, of up to 54 days at the end of each year of the prisoner’s term of imprisonment, beginning at the end of | the first year of the term, subject to determina- tion by the Bureau of Prisons that, during that year, the prisoner has displayed exemplary com- pliance with institutional disciplinary regula- tions.... [C]redit for the last year or portion of a year of the term of imprisonment shall be pro- rated and credited within the last six weeks of the sentence. The phrase “term of imprisonment” appears four times in that section. There is no dispute that the first two times it refers to the years imposed by the sentencing judge. But the third time the statute refers to the “term of imprisonment,” the Bureau of Prisons interprets it to allow 54 days of credit per year served, rather than per year imposed. With a lengthy and complicated mathematical calculation in Bureau of Prisons Program Statement 5880.28, the Bureau of Prisons determined that prisoners are allowed up to 47 days of good time credit per year imposed, and not 54 days. Petitioner asks: Under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b)(1), are prisoners on good behavior entitled to 54 days of good time credit per year of the sentence imposed, as the statute’s plain terms and its legislative history provide, or 47 days as the Bureau of Prisons has decided? LIST OF PARTIES All parties appear in the caption of the case on the cover page. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI ................... cde cha linden dientninthannbeliinabanetabial 1 IIT Ur Juchictintacidcresiosechidaschanoindanhedeabiebdnadaiabaden 1 ETT ins scekncemaniohaennensniussasinelediglonnn 2 REGULATIONS INVOLVED...................ccecccssessessessecess 2 OTHER AUTHORITIES INVOLVED....................0...... 2 pre Sy gh 6 gy | Lo) | 2 REASONS FOR GRANTING THE WRIT..................... 4 A. The Bureau of Prisons’ Determination that Prisoners Receive 47 Days of Good Time Per Year Rather than the 54 Days of Good Time Credit Intended by Statute Raises an Impor- tant and Expensive Question .......................000+5 4 B. The Seventh Circuit Misapplied Supreme Court Precedent When it Interpreted 18 U.S.C. § 3624 as Ambiguous and then Deferred to the Bureau of Prisons’ Interpretation of the Stat- RD, FPUARE BO CRRGII ONS oocccececnsccicnecesnctnccecscsess 7 IIIT siicdiceetasbcseniciedegasesiciininndi aikcihinaniesSeateleasaibies 12 lv INDEX TO APPENDICES White v. Scibana, 390 F.3d 997 (7th Cir. 2005)......... App. 1 White v. Scibana, 314 F.Supp.2d 834 (W.D. Wis. SITET \isiccecsestteczbiidisacenceideiligiaiaisaliaintlanteinnabedasaiesliabendaniaedan App. 12 White v. Scibana, No. 04-2410, Order Denying Rehearing En Banc. (Feb. 9, 2005) ............ eee App. 26 Be IE iseaicacsnicttectnnpeiiciatiesiniainvcadiipsnveniaced App. 27 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page CASES Alaska v. American Can Co., 358 U.S. 224 (1959).............. 4 Army & Air Force Exchange Service v. Sheehan, 456 Ck “Fae CM eiciiticths hea nese niededteicactesiaepeaee te is cada a 7 Bailey v. United States, 516 U.S. 137 (1995)............. ee. 9 Brown v. Hemmingway, 53 Fed. Appx. 338, 2002 We hs SRM CHURN CAN IED stcviieisarcnciviioiarsnteinuadsabiesbinehunns 8 Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v: Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984)...............0000. 7, 8, 10, 11 Christianson v. Harris County, 529 U.S. 576 (2000)........ 11 Clark v. Martinez, 125 S.Ct. 716 (2008)...................0cceecee. 10 Commissioner v. Standard Life & Accident Ins. Co., Se FFB Be ET tisacictceecerieceaccicsaaii 4 Henderson v. Kibbe, 431 U.S. 145 (1977)...........ccceceseseeeeees 7 INS w. Bh or, GSB US. FO ae biscikeemiciccieie 10 Leocal v. Ashcroft, 125 S.Ct. 377 (2004)... eeeeeeeees 10 Moreland v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, No. CIV. A. H-04-3658, 2005 WL 757154 (S.D. Tex. March 30, ID sixcininisininsaisnasiciicndatassduanchaaksaeaaneimaaiadseaiaan nnn 8, 10 National Broiler Marketing Assn. v. United States, BEG TS Bh. GIG CGF wvsskcicctnssiicehiicicettba a nee 7 Neal v. United States, 516 U.S. 284 (1996)............0........ 6 Pacheco-Camacho v. Hood, 272 F.3d 1266 (9th Cir. DODD ercssinitncsniisanasarniisiodiididetsubimiaummm itis cil pie ae 8 Perez-Olivio v. Chavez, No. 04-1486, 2005 WL 31913 (1st Cir. January 7, 2005)................ccccccrrrsssrsssssees 8 vi TABLE OF AUTHORITIES -— Continued Page Sorenson v. Secretary of Treasury, 475 U.S. 851 CRIP Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3624(b), as in effect for offenses committed on or after November 1, 1987 but before April 26, 1996, an inmate earns 54 days credit toward service of sentence (good conduct time credit) for each year served. This amount is prorated when the time served by the inmate for the sentence during the year is less than a full year. The amount to be awarded is also subject to discipli- nary disallowance (see Tables 3 through 6 in § 541.13 of this chapter). Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3624(b), as in effect for offenses committed on or after April 26, 1996, the Bureau shall consider whether the inmate has earned, or is making satisfactory progress (see § 544.73(b) of this chapter) toward earning a General Educational Develop- ment (GED) credential before awarding good conduct time credit. (a) When considering good conduct time for an inmate serving a sentence for an offense committed on or after April 26, 1996, the Bureau shall award: (1) 54 days credit for each year served (prorated when the time served by the inmate for the sentence during the year is less than a full year) if the inmate has earned or is making satisfactory progress toward earning a GED credential or high school diploma; or (2) 42 days credit for each year served (prorated when the time served by the inmate for the sentence during the year is less than a full year) if the inmate has not earned or is not making satisfactory progress toward earning a GED credential or high school di- ploma. App. 32 (b) The amount of good conduct time awarded for the year is also subject to disciplinary disallowance (see Tables 3 through 6 in § 541.13 of this chapter). sibanibbiiee --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/brief%3Amicro_IA40386007_0864%3A1. Public record. Not legal advice.