Opinion
No. 03 Crim. 0256 (LAK).
September 7, 2004
ORDER
Defendant was convicted in October 2003 of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 921 and sentenced principally to a term of imprisonment of 30 months. By letter dated August 19, 2004, he complains that he already should have been released from prison on the assumptions that (a) the term of imprisonment should have commenced on the date of the offense, which he says was May 16, 2002, and (b) he is entitled to "good time."
Section 3585(a) of the Criminal Code, 18 U.S.C. § 3585(a), provides that "[a] sentence to a term of imprisonment commences on the date the defendant is received in custody awaiting transportation to, or arrives voluntarily to commence service of sentence at, the official detention facility at which the sentence is to be served." Section 3585(b) provides that credit is to be given in some circumstances for time spent in official detention prior to the commencement of the sentence. However, the determination of when a term of imprisonment commences and of any credit to be given under Section 3585(b) is a matter for the Bureau of Prisons, not the sentencing court. United States v. Luna-Reynoso, 258 F.3d 111, 117 (2d Cir. 2001).
After first exhausting his administrative remedies within the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice, defendant may seek judicial review by appropriate means. The application is denied without prejudice to such efforts.
SO ORDERED.