United States Third Circuit

District court's denial of defendant's petition for habeas relief is affirmed as the Bureau of Prisons (BOP)articulated sufficient rationale for a BOP regulation categorically excluding felons whose offense involved possession of a firearm from eligibility for a sentence reduction, so as to satisfy the arbitrary and capricious standard set forth in the APA. Furthermore, although the BOP's public safety rationale was not explicit in the Federal Register notices for the 1997 or 2000 regulations, the rationale may reasonably be discerned from the regulatory history and attendant litigation.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/26/2009
• Published 10/26/2009

Judges

• Before:  FISHER, JORDAN and VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Albert Gardner, Fort Dix FCI, Fort Dix, NJ, pro se.


• For Appellees:
  
• Paul A. Blaine, Office of the United States Attorney Camden Federal Building & Courthouse, Camden, NJ, for Appellee.