William White, a federal prisoner, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking time credits under the First Step Act for a three-day period he spent in the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. Initially, White argued that his confinement in a Special Housing Unit without due process prevented him from earning credits because the Bureau of Prisons failed to offer recidivism reduction programming. Throughout the litigation, both White and the government operated under the assumption that no programming was available at the transfer center. The district court agreed, finding that White was prevented from earning credits due to the lack of programming. However, on appeal, the government shifted its argument, claiming that White did not actually participate in programming, a theory the panel majority accepted to deny relief. Now, White has filed a petition for rehearing, presenting a new declaration and BOP records stating he met with a psychologist and completed workbooks during his stay.
The panel majority, led by Judge Niemeyer and joined by Judge Wilkinson, denied the petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc. The court reasoned that the record consistently showed no recidivism reduction programming was offered at the Transfer Center, particularly for prisoners in the Special Housing Unit. The majority emphasized that White's new claim of receiving psychological materials was 'totally inconsistent with the position that White has consistently taken throughout this litigation up to now.' The court noted that White had argued for years that the lack of programming was the cause of his inability to earn credits, and he had numerous opportunities to correct this position but did not do so until now. The majority concluded that even if the new information were considered, it would 'hardly satisfy the First Step Act requirements' because the statutory mandate requires 'successful completion' of programming, which the record did not support. The court found that the original opinion properly denied relief because White failed to 'participate' in and 'successfully complete' the required programming during his three-day confinement.
The denial of the petition for rehearing means the original decision stands: William White is not entitled to First Step Act time credits for the three days he spent at the Federal Transfer Center. The ruling reinforces the strict requirement that prisoners must actually participate in and successfully complete recidivism reduction programming to earn credits, even in transfer facilities. However, the dissent highlights an unresolved factual dispute regarding the availability of programming at transfer centers, which may require future litigation if similar evidence surfaces in other cases. The decision leaves the petitioner without the requested sentence credits and closes the appellate review for this specific petition.
Podcast (federal-narrative-summaries): Play in new window | Download