Sandusky v. Goetz, 2019 WL 6834803 (10th Cir. December 16, 2019) (CO): In every year since 2014, Congress has passed an appropriations rider which stipulates that the Department of Justice may not use appropriate funds to obstruct states from promulgating and enforcing their own laws legalizing acts pertaining to medical marijuana. Sandusky was convicted in federal court of trafficking marijuana. He filed a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 arguing that his conduct complied with California state law. Since the rider was in effect, he said that the Bureau of Prisons cannot expend funds to incarcerate him. The district court dismissed his petition because it believed his claim did not fall under § 2241.

The panel disagreed. Sandusky was not contesting his conviction or sentence. Instead he was challenging only the execution of his sentence and § 2241 is the correct statute under which to make that challenge. The panel reversed the district court and directed it on remand to consider the merits of Sandusky’s petition. The panel noted his petition raises an issue of first impression.