Barber v. Thomas

Barber v. Thomas
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 30, 2010
Decided June 7, 2010
Full case nameMichael Gary Barber, et al., Petitioners v. J. E. Thomas, Warden
Docket no.09-5201
Citations560 U.S. 474 (more)
130 S. Ct. 2499; 177 L. Ed. 2d 1; 78 USLW 4509; 10 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6983; 2010 Daily Journal D.A.R. 8311; 22 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 419
Holding
A federal inmate who demonstrates "good behavior," is entitled to 54 days credit for every year of actual imprisonment.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Case opinions
MajorityBreyer, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor
DissentKennedy, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg

Barber v. Thomas, 560 U.S. 474 (2010), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held, 6–3, that prisoners incarcerated in federal prisons are entitled to up to 54 days of "good time credits" for every year they are incarcerated, allowing federal inmates to reduce their sentence by up to 54 days per year of imprisonment for exhibiting good behavior.[1] The case concerned how the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons should calculate "good time credits": whether they should be calculated based on the length of the sentence levied by the judge, or by the time actually served by the inmate.[2]

  1. ^ Cecere, Carl (June 9, 2010). "Statutory incoherence takes the fun out of "good time" credits under Section 3624(b)(1)". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  2. ^ Mears, Bill (March 30, 2010). "Supreme Court justices have a good time debating 'good time'". CNN. Retrieved July 9, 2022.