In Andrews v. Warden, No. 19-2443 (May 5, 2020) (William
Pryor, Jill Pryor, Luck), the Court affirmed the denial of a federal
prisoner’s 2241 habeas petition.
The defendant challenged the BOP’s re-calculation of his
release date after President Obama commuted the “total sentence of imprisonment”
that he was “now serving.” The defendant
argued that this commutation also extended to an earlier term of imprisonment
that he had completed, not just the term of imprisonment he was currently
serving (which included a sentence for violating supervised release of the
earlier sentence). The Eleventh Circuit
disagreed. After a lengthy discussion on
the President’s pardon power and other related matters, the Court found that
the plain language of the commutation foreclosed the defendant’s argument, and
that the BOP’s interpretation of it was entitled to deference.
Judge Jill Pryor concurred only in the result.
