LOS ANGELES - The Federal Bureau of Prisons has reportedly decided to keep pornographer Max Hardcore incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles to serve his 46-month sentence for obscenity crimes.
U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew had ordered Max, a.k.a. Paul Little, to serve his time at a minimum security prison. Max believed he would most likely be sent to the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex, about 50 miles north of Santa Barbara.
"The sad reality is that there are a small number of prisoners who are permanently housed at MDC, where Max is now, and Max will be there for the indefinite future," attorney Jeffrey Douglas told AVN.
But why?
"Boy, if I knew the answer to that question!" Douglas said. "The Bureau of Prisons moves in mysterious ways, and that's about as close as we get."
Only a small number of sentenced prisoners are incarcerated at MDC. The Center is mainly used as a holding facility for defendants charged with federal drug sales, gang members who have committed federal crimes (including murder) and others charged with serious federal offenses while they are awaiting trial. However, Max is expected to have very little interaction with those types of prisoners.
In fact, Five North is considered to be a "low security" facility, even though it lacks the camaraderie and freedom of movement that Little would have at, for instance, the Lompoc Complex, all of which is lower-security.
"It's definitely a major step down from Lompoc Camp," Douglas said. "It's probably a step down from Lompoc Low-Security. Lompoc is just a nice facility; MDC is not. On the other hand, MDC is relatively new as federal prisons go, and there are many, many, many perks, so he'll get a job soon and just settle into things."
Among the jobs that Little could do are working the prison laundry, doing meal preparation, or even street sweeping in front of the MDC - but Douglas still will be trying to get Little moved to Lompoc.
"We can try, but his incarceration at MDC is unquestionably a discretionary act by an opaque administration," Douglas explained. "The Board of Prison Terms, or whatever they call it on the federal side, is just particularly given an enormous amount of discretion, so there's no possibility of judicial remedy. All there is, is administrative whining, and until we may or may not get a copy of the explanation that they're supposed to provide the judge when they don't follow the judge's recommendation - they are not required to inform the judge, but most of the time they do, and we may or may not see a copy of it. If we can see a copy of it, then we can administratively seek review, assuming they have provided us some basis to do so."
It's easier for L.A. friends and relatives to visit Max at MDC's Alameda Street location, as opposed to Lompoc. But at the moment, the only visitors allowed are his attorneys; in the near future, he will be able to provide officials with a list of family and friends who might want to visit. Each of those names must be screened to meet the prison's requirements.
"I'm sure the more visitors he can get, the happier he will be," Douglas told AVN. "That's one up side of being held at MDC."
