Cite as: 531 U. S. 230 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
Lopez urges that the statute is unambiguous. He says that, by identifying a class of inmates ineligible for sentence reductions under § 3621(e)(2)(B), i. e., those convicted of a violent offense, Congress has barred the Bureau from identifying further categories of ineligible inmates. "If Congress wanted the BOP to reduce the categories of inmates eligible for the early release incentive (beyond the one identified by Congress), Congress would have specifically placed this grant of authority in the language of the statute." Brief for Petitioner 23. As to the statutory instruction that the Bureau "may" reduce sentences, Lopez initially suggests it is merely a grant of authority to the BOP to reduce a sentence that, prior to the enactment of § 3621(e)(2)(B), could not be reduced for successful completion of drug treatment: "The power granted was to give reductions not the power to decide who was eligible to receive reductions." Id., at 21. He alternately contends that the Bureau may take into account only "post-conviction conduct," not "pre-conviction conduct." Reply Brief 4-5. Acting on a case-by-case basis, Lopez asserts, the Bureau may "deny early release to those inmates [who] are statutorily eligible, but who do not deserve early release based on their conduct while in prison." Id., at 5. Under this reading, the Bureau may exercise discretion in denying early release, but only on an individual basis, taking account solely of postconviction conduct.
In the Bureau's view, § 3621(e)(2)(B) establishes two prerequisites for sentence reduction: conviction of a nonviolent offense and successful completion of drug treatment. Brief for Respondents 18. If those prerequisites are met, the Bureau "may," but also may not, grant early release. The BOP opposes Lopez's argument that Congress barred the Bureau from imposing limitations categorically or on the basis of preconviction conduct. According to the Bureau, Congress simply "did not address how the Bureau should exercise its discretion within the class of inmates who satisfy the statutory prerequisites for early release." Id., at 23. Because
239
Page: Index Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007