Ninth Circuit ruling on BOP closing up boot camps

Thanks to this BOPWatch notice, I see that the Ninth Circuit in Serrato v. Clark, No. 06-15167 (9th Cir. May 9, 2007) (available here), has refused to grant relief to a defendant complaining about a 2004 decision by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) to terminate its boot camp programs.  Here are snippets from the start and end of the opinion:

Before the boot camp program was terminated, Nora Luz Serrato pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  Serrato wanted to attend boot camp. At sentencing, the judge recommended that Serrato be placed in the program … [but was later] informed that the program had been terminated and that no such transfer was possible. Faced with the prospect of losing the six-month sentence reduction boot camp held out, Serrato filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus….

Although this case is not moot and Serrato has standing to challenge BOP’s termination of boot camp, her substantive challenges fail. BOP’s decision, which was prompted by what it saw as budget constraints and better uses of its lump-sum appropriation, was committed to its discretion by law, and did not require notice and comment.  BOP’s act did not violate sentencing statutes, the Guidelines, or the separation of powers.  Serrato has suffered no harm cognizable under the Ex Post Facto Clause or our retroactivity doctrine.