Opinion
3:14-cr-100-HZ-2
03-07-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JORGE FELIX-RODRIGUEZ, Defendant.
OPINION & ORDER
MARCO A. HERNANDEZ, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Defendant Jorge Felix-Rodriguez moves the Court to reduce his sentence to time served under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). ECF 1057. The Government opposes Defendant's motion. For the reasons stated below, the Court denies Defendant's motion.
Defendant asserts that more than thirty days have passed since he filed a request for compassionate release from the warden. The Government accepts this assertion. Thus, the Court concludes that Defendant has satisfied the exhaustion requirement of the statute. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
BACKGROUND
On November 14, 2014, Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846. Plea Agr., ECF 423. On October 9, 2015, the Court sentenced Defendant to 135 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. J. & Commitment, ECF 627. Defendant is currently incarcerated at FCI Sheridan in Oregon, and his projected release date is November 23, 2023. Govt. Resp. 2, ECF 1061.
STANDARDS
A federal district court generally “may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed[.]” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c); Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817, 824-25 (2010). Under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), Congress provided an exception, commonly known as compassionate release, to reduce a defendant's sentence for “extraordinary and compelling reasons.” Under the original statute, only the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) could file a § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion for a sentence reduction on a defendant's behalf. United States v.Aruda, 993 F.3d 797, 799 (9th Cir. 2021). But with the passage of the First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5191 (2018), Congress amended § 3582(c)(1)(A) to also allow a defendant, after first requesting that the BOP move for a reduction on his or her behalf, to directly move the district court for a sentence reduction:
[T]he court, . . . upon motion of the defendant after the defendant has fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the defendant's behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant's facility, whichever is earlier, may reduce the term of imprisonment . . . after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable, if it finds that-
(i) Extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction; [. . . ] and that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
The United States Sentencing Commission's policy statement identifies categories of extraordinary and compelling reasons, including the defendant's age, medical condition, and “family circumstances.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 app. n.1(A)-(C). The Sentencing Commission's policy statement, however, only applies to § 3582(c)(1)(A) motions filed by the BOP Director on behalf of a defendant. Aruda, 993 F.3d at 801. On a defendant's direct motion for compassionate release, the policy factors “may inform a district court's discretion . . ., but they are not binding.” Id. (citation omitted). As a result, the court may consider any extraordinary and compelling reason for release that a defendant might raise. Id.
If the court finds extraordinary and compelling circumstances, it must then determine whether the circumstances warrant a reduction (and, if so, the amount of reduction), after considering the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and after considering whether the defendant is a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community as provided in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g). U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(4).
DISCUSSION
Defendant contends that, given his underlying medical conditions, the current COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an extraordinary and compelling reason for his compassionate release. Defendant is a 66-year-old man with hypertension, heart disease, and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol). Def. Mot.; Govt. Ex. 1, ECF 1062-1. Defendant asserts that his age and health conditions place him at a high risk of serious illness and possible death if he contracts COVID-19. He argues that the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing and that he, therefore, remains at heightened risk of becoming seriously ill while he is in custody at FCI Sheridan.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) lists “heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, and possibly high blood pressure (hypertension)” as medical conditions that place individuals at increased risk of developing severe illness with COVID-19. A CDC website explains that evidence is “inconclusive” as to whether hypertension increases the risk of severe illness from a COVID-19 infection. The CDC does not list high cholesterol as a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection.
People with Certain Medical Conditions, CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html (updated Feb. 10, 2023) (emphasis added).
Underlying Medical Conditions Associated with Higher Risk of Severe COVID-19: Information for Healthcare Providers, CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care/underlyingconditions.html (updated Feb. 9, 2023).
People with Certain Medical Conditions, CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html (updated Feb. 10, 2023).
Defendant's Bureau of Prisons medical records show that he has been diagnosed with hypertension and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) as he alleges. Govt. Ex. 1 at 6. Defendant takes medication for both conditions. His records do not show that has coronary artery disease or a history of heart failure. Id. Defendant's medical records also show that he has received at least two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Id. at 45.
Defendant has not established that if he contracts COVID-19, his underlying health conditions put him at higher risk of developing severe illness than other federal prisoners. Defendant's medical records show that his hypertension and high cholesterol are being effectively managed with medication. Thus, his medical conditions alone do not constitute extraordinary and compelling circumstances that justify compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
At 66-years old, Defendant does have increased his risk of severe illness from COVID-19 compared to younger inmates. But Defendant's vaccination status significantly mitigates that risk. See United States v. Rennie, 3:19-cr-00402-SI, 2021 WL 5053286, at *2 (D. Or. Nov. 1, 2021) (quoting United States v. Broadfield, 5 F.4th 801, 803 (7th Cir. 2021) (“[F]or the vast majority of prisoners, the availability of a vaccine makes it impossible to conclude that the risk of COVID-19 is an ‘extraordinary and compelling' reason for immediate release.”). “An overwhelming amount of district courts across the country have held that being vaccinated drastically reduces the risk of becoming severely ill and therefore denied compassionate release.” United States v. Williams, No. 3:19-CR-71 JD, 2021 WL 4860170, at *3 (N.D. Ind. Oct. 19, 2021) (collecting cases).
Underlying Medical Conditions Associated with Higher Risk of Severe COVID-19: Information for Healthcare Providers, CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care/underlyingconditions.html (updated Feb. 9, 2023).
Defendant presents several cases in which federal courts have granted compassionate release to inmates who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. See, e.g., United States v.Wiman, No. 3:15-cr-00017-RLY-CMM-01, 2021 WL 4307013 (S.D. Ind. Sept. 22, 2021); United States v. Darby, No. 1:10-cr-432, 2021 WL 2463841 (N.D. Ohio June 17, 2021); UnitedStates v. Manglona, No. CR14-5393RJB, 2021 WL 808386 (W.D. Wash Mar. 3, 2021). But each of these cases was decided during a time when COVID-19 was much more prevalent in BOP facilities. More recently, courts in the Ninth Circuit have held that with the wide availability of COVID-19 vaccines, medical conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 do not constitute extraordinary and compelling circumstances that would warrant compassionate release. See, e.g., United States v. Jhons, No. 1:18-cr-00265-MC-1, 2022 WL 6702598, at *2 (D. Or. Oct. 11, 2022); United States v. Parker, No. 1:18-CR-00338-MC, 2022 WL 4103637, at *2 (D. Or. Sept. 8, 2022). As of February 21, 2023, more than 2,000 inmates and more than 200 staff members at FCI Sheridan have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Bureau of Prison statistics show that only three inmates and no staff members tested positive for COVID-19 on that day.
BOP COVID-19 Statistics, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/covid19statistics.html (last visited February 21, 2023).
BOP COVID-19 Statistics, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/covid19statistics.html (last visited February 21, 2023).
The Court finds that given his vaccination status and the current low prevalence of COVID-19 at FCI Sheridan, Defendant's age and medical conditions do not constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons to reduce his sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Because Defendant has not established the threshold requirement of an extraordinary and compelling circumstance, the Court need not address whether a reduced sentence would comply with the section 3553(a) sentencing factors.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the Court DENIES Defendant's Motion for Sentence Reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) [60].
IT IS SO ORDERED.