Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Federal inmate Ashton Causey pleaded guilty to several offenses, including possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). He received a total term of 210 months, with the sentence for the § 924(c) conviction running consecutively to concurrent sentences on his other convictions.
The Bureau of Prisons denied Causey earned time credits under the First Step Act because § 924(c) is among the convictions that make a prisoner ineligible for such credits. Causey petitioned for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, arguing that he had completed the consecutive § 924(c) portion of his imprisonment and therefore should be eligible to earn credits during the remainder. The district court adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation that the BOP properly treated his multiple sentences as one aggregate term and denied the petition.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifth Circuit affirmed. It held that 18 U.S.C. § 3584(c), which requires concurrent and consecutive prison terms to be treated as a single aggregate term for administrative purposes, applies to the BOP’s administration of First Step Act time credits. Because Causey’s aggregate term included a sentence for a disqualifying § 924(c) conviction, the BOP properly deemed him ineligible to earn credits for the entire term, including the portion remaining after the § 924(c) component had been served.
The court rejected Causey’s reliance on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, concluding that its own best reading of the statutes supported aggregation and did not depend on deference to the BOP. It also declined to apply the rule of lenity because it found the relevant statutes unambiguous. Causey’s exhaustion argument did not affect the appeal because the district court had not denied relief on exhaustion grounds, and the panel denied his motion to consolidate this case with two other appeals. Judge Higginson dissented and would have reversed based on the reasoning of Judge Wynn’s dissent in Bonnie v. Dunbar.
Key Takeaways
- The BOP may treat concurrent and consecutive sentences as one aggregate term when determining eligibility for First Step Act earned time credits.
- A disqualifying § 924(c) conviction rendered Causey ineligible for credits throughout his aggregate term, even after he had completed the portion attributable to that conviction.
- The opinion is unpublished and therefore is not controlling Fifth Circuit precedent, though it may be cited as persuasive authority.
Why It Matters
The decision adds persuasive Fifth Circuit authority supporting the BOP’s practice of evaluating First Step Act eligibility against a prisoner’s aggregate term rather than treating each component sentence separately. It also aligns with the approach the panel said every other circuit to consider the issue had taken.
Because the court expressly designated the opinion as unpublished, it does not establish binding circuit precedent. The dissent nevertheless highlights an ongoing disagreement over whether the First Step Act permits prisoners to earn credits during portions of an aggregate term attributable to otherwise eligible convictions.