Opinion
Case No. 09-12329.
May 12, 2011
ORDER
On June 16, 2009, Petitioner filed a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, claiming that a Bureau of Prisons regulation excluding certain inmates from early release is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law. The regulations exclude inmates with prior misdemeanor or felony convictions for certain serious or violent crimes. On June 19, 2009, this Court issued an Order summarily denying Petitioner's writ of habeas corpus on the merits. (Doc. 4). This Court said the Bureau's regulation was a valid exercise of its authority.
Petitioner appealed. The Sixth Circuit vacated this Court's Order and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, because the Petitioner's challenge is not yet ripe. See Pitts v. Zych, 2011 WL 852091 at *1 (6th Cir. March 11, 2011). The Bureau had not yet decided that Pitts was ineligible for early release. The Court said: "Until the relevant legal staff of the Bureau determines that Pitts is ineligible for early release, we do not know whether Pitts will suffer any injury." Id. at *2. Furthermore, the Court said it is not a foregone conclusion that Pitts would be denied early release because he does not say whether he has a prior conviction which would render him ineligible under the regulation. Id.
In accordance with the Sixth Circuit's Opinion and Mandate, this Court DISMISSES Petitioner's claims for want of jurisdiction.