John William Russie v. United States Department of Justice, United States Parole Commission, United States Marshal, and King County Jail

John William Russie appeals the district court’s order denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Russie argues that under 18 U.S.C. § 4164 the United States Parole Commission did not have the authority to issue a federal parole violation warrant against him because he had fewer than 180 days remaining until the expiration of his sentence for violating federal narcotics statutes. The district court held that 18 U.S.C. § 4164 , which removes ■ the Commission’s jurisdiction over a released prisoner during the final 180 days of the prisoner’s maximum term, did not apply to Russie because he was serving a special parole term required by 21 U.S.C. § 841 (b) when the parole violation warrant was issued. We conclude that the district court was correct in denying Russie’s habeas petition because the 180-day limitation of 18 U.S.C. § 4164 is not applicable to released prisoners serving special parole terms.

FACTS

In October 1977, Russie was convicted of distributing cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 . He was sentenced to one year in prison and a mandatory special parole term of three years. After earning 60 days of “good time,” Russie was released from prison on July 28,…