Ahssem Rifai v. United States Parole Commission and Warden, United States Penitentiary, McNeil Island, Washington

Rifai petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus challenging the denial of his release on parole by the United States Parole Commission (Commission). He asserted that the Commission’s use of new parole release guidelines and statutory standards in making his parole decision violated the prohibition of ex post facto laws. The district court denied his petition and he raises the same issues on appeal. We affirm.

I.

FACTS

Rifai was convicted in 1972 for importing and possessing heroin and sentenced to ten years. He attempted to influence a witness in a motion for a new trial, and was convicted in 1974 for conspiracy to suborn perjury and obstruction of justice. For this second conviction, he was sentenced to two concurrent five-year terms to run consecutively to the ten-year sentence.

At the time Rifai was sentenced on both convictions, the Commission determined whether to release a prisoner on parole under the following statutory standards:

18 U.S.C. § 4203 (a) (1970) (repealed 1976). Prior to 1973, although the Commission considered several other factors within this broad grant of discretion, it emphasized institutional performance as the primary criterion in determining parole…