The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Nov. 2, 2026, in a case determining whether federal inmates can use habeas corpus petitions to challenge the government’s refusal to move them to halfway houses or home confinement. The case, Maxwell v. Dinis, centers on 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a statute used to challenge the legality of a person's detention.
The legal dispute follows a 2015 conviction of William Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years for conspiring with organized crime members to take over and drain more than $14 million from a mortgage company. Maxwell sought to use credits earned under the First Step Act of 2018 to move from prison to a less restrictive halfway house or home confinement. While the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) calculated his eligibility date for Jan. 22, 2027, Maxwell filed a petition claiming he was entitled to an additional 42 to 48 months of credit.
A district court rejected Maxwell’s petition for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed on the ground that habeas relief is only available if a claim would automatically entitle an inmate to accelerated release. Because the circuit court determined a transfer to a halfway house or home confinement would not entitle Maxwell to accelerated release, it ruled he could not seek habeas relief.
The decision carries potential financial and administrative weight for the Department of Justice, which manages the BOP. Maxwell argues that if habeas relief is unavailable, he has no other alternatives, as federal law limits other avenues for suing federal prison officials, such as the Administrative Procedure Act. The government, while agreeing that alternatives to habeas are unavailable, argues that Maxwell's claim is barred by a statute that prevents judicial review of BOP classification decisions. A final decision is expected by the end of the court's term.