340
Stevens, J., dissenting
ruling: First, the District Court erroneously construed the amended statute, and second, the legal question that the District Court decided was ripe for decision at the time of sentencing.
In its opinion today, the Court emphasizes the fact that the state court later awarded respondent credit for his 14 months in pretrial detention, arguing that he therefore would not have been entitled to a federal credit if the federal determination had been made after the state sentence was imposed. See ante, at 333, 334. This argument is misleading for three reasons. First, if the Federal District Court had granted respondent's request, it seems unlikely that the state court would also have allowed the credit. Second, although the Court assumes that the risk of a double credit could be avoided by postponing the credit determination until after the convicted defendant begins to serve his federal sentence, that assumption is erroneous because state proceedings frequently do not terminate until after a defendant begins to serve his federal sentence or, indeed, in some cases, until after the defendant has been released from federal custody. Third, when a correct federal sentence, including a correct credit for pretrial custody, has been imposed, the subsequent action of a state court concerning the amount of punishment for any state offenses the defendant may have committed is purely a matter of state concern.
In this case, for example, if the Federal Sentencing Guidelines had prescribed a sentence of less than 14 months, and if the District Court, or indeed the Attorney General, had awarded respondent the proper credit, and therefore released him from custody, it would be bizarre to conclude that
ment officials. United States v. Garcia-Gutierrez, 835 F. 2d 585, 586 (5th Cir. 1988); United States v. Harris, 876 F. 2d 1502, 1506 (11th Cir. 1989), cert. denied, [493 U. S. 1005] (1989). The federal detainer must be the exclusive reason a prisoner in state custody has not been released on bail. United States v. Blankenship, 733 F. 2d 433, 434 (6th Cir. 1984)." Brief for Appellee in No. 89-6583, pp. 14-15.
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