Maxwell v. Thomas
Brief Details
- Case No.: 25-5930
- Brief Filed: August 12, 2026
- Jurisdiction: United States Supreme Court
Key Topics in the Brief
Briefs
Prior Decision
Decision below 133 F.4th 453 (5th Cir. 2025).
This case asks whether federal prisoners can use a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to seek judicial review when the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) fails in its statutory obligation to accelerate community-based placements for individuals who successfully engage in the First Step Act’s (FSA) recidivism-reducing programs. Amici examine the gap between how the FSA’s earned time credit system works on paper as prescribed by the (exacting) statute and how BOP has (improperly) implemented the law in practice, to highlight the need for meaningful judicial review. It ends by explaining why § 2241 petitions must be available when BOP fails to provide the community placements the statute requires.
Author(s)
Jessica Stengel, Judith Minzer, Robert Meyers, and Cathi Shusky, National Association of Federal Defenders; Barbara E. Bergman, National Co-Chair, NACDL Amicus Curiae Committee, Washington, DC; Trevor Parkes, NACDL, Washington, DC; Elizabeth G. Daily, Oregon Federal Public Defender, Portland, OR; Claire Madill, Maryland Federal Public Defender, Greenbelt, MD
