Opinion
CASE NO. 2:10-CR-00040-02
01-15-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CARLOS HURTADO-VALOIS (02)
JUDGE JAMES D. CAIN, JR.
MAGISTRATE JUDGE KAY
MEMORANDUM ORDER
Before the Court are three (3) Pro se letters (Docs. 107, 108, 109) from Defendant Carlos Hurtado-Valois wherein he requests to be moved to another facility due to his concerns of life-threatening gang reprisal.
Decisions regarding prisoner designations are reserved exclusively to the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP"), as they involve specialized determinations uniquely within its expertise. See 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) (providing that '[t]he Bureau of Prisons shall designate the place of the prisoner's imprisonment," taking into account his security designation, his programmatic needs, his mental and medical health needs, his faith-based needs, the proximity to his primary residence, BOP's security concerns and the recommendations of the sentencing court).
Courts have no authority to dictate prisoner placements, and the BOP's designations are not subject to judicial review. Id. ("The Bureau may at any time, having regard for the same matters, direct the transfer of a prisoner from one penal or correctional facility to another.... A designation of a place of imprisonment under this subsection is not reviewable by any court.") See e.g. Siebert v. Chandler, 586 F.App'x 188, 189 (5th Cir. 2014) ("Moreover, a prisoner has no liberty interest or right to be housed in any particular facility, and the BOP has wide discretion on designating the place of a prisoner's imprisonment."), citing Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 244-45, 103 S.Ct. 1741 (1983) and 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b).
This Court has no authority to grant the relief requested by Defendant Valios. Valios must make his request to the BOP. Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Valios' request for transfer is hereby DENIED.
THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Chambers, on this 15th day of January, 2021.
/s/ _________
JAMES D. CAIN, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE