Summary
staying compassionate release pending exhaustion
Summary of this case from United States v. NobleOpinion
Case No. 17-cr-00022-JSW-1
06-08-2020
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Quincy KRASHNA, Defendant.
Thomas R. Green, United States Attorney's Office, Oakkland, CA, for Plaintiff. Joyce Leavitt, Federal Public Defender's Office, Oakland, CA, for Defendant.
Thomas R. Green, United States Attorney's Office, Oakkland, CA, for Plaintiff.
Joyce Leavitt, Federal Public Defender's Office, Oakland, CA, for Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
Re: Dkt. No. 40
JEFFREY S. WHITE, United States District Judge
Now before the Court for consideration is Defendant Quincy Krashna's motion for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 3582 (" Section 3582"). The Court has considered the parties' papers, relevant legal authority, and the record in this case. For the reasons set forth below, the Court HEREBY GRANTS Defendant's motion.
BACKGROUND
On September 10, 2018, Mr. Krashna pled guilty to wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 1343. (Dkt. No. 37.) The Court sentenced Mr. Krashna to a term of twenty-four months in custody followed by three years of supervised release. (Id. ) On November 6, 2018, Mr. Krashna surrendered to custody and was incarcerated at SCP Sheridan. (Dkt. No. 39.) He was released on September 5, 2019, into a halfway house in Oakland. (Mot. at 5.) On January 27, 2020, he was remanded into custody at Santa Rita Jail, where he is currently incarcerated. (Id. ) His expected release date is September 5, 2020. (Id. )
Mr. Krashna's counsel submitted a request for his release to the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") on May 18, 2020. (Dkt. No. 40-1.) On May 19, 2020, Mr. Krashna filed this motion requesting compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c). (Dkt. No. 40.)
The Government does not dispute that this communication from Mr. Krashna's counsel constitutes a motion to the BOP for compassionate release that triggers the 30-day period for administrative review under Section 3582(c)(1)(A).
Mr. Krashna is 51 years old. According to the Presentence Investigation Report, Mr. Krashna has a history of heart attacks and strokes and suffers from several medical conditions including coronary artery disease. (Dkt. No. 33.) While in custody at Santa Rita Jail, Mr. Krashna asserts that he has experienced ongoing chest pains and shortness of breath. (Mot. at 4.) ANALYSIS
Mr. Krashna moves to be released from custody based on Section 3582(c)(1)(A). Under Section 3582(c), a court may modify a term of imprisonment on motion from a defendant if "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, which is earlier." 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Upon such motion, a court may modify a defendant's sentence "after considering the factors set forth in § 3553(a) to the extent applicable" if it finds "extraordinary and compelling reasons to warrant such a reduction" and "such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission." Id. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i).
Mr. Krashna argues that extraordinary and compelling reasons exist warranting a sentence reduction under U.S.S.G. section 1B1.13, app. note 1(A) due to his medical conditions. This provision states:
(A) Medical Condition of the Defendant.
(i) The defendant is suffering from a terminal illness (i.e., a serious and advanced illness with an end of life trajectory). A specific prognosis of life expectancy (i.e., a probability of death within a specific time period) is not required. Examples include metastatic solid-tumor cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), end-stage organ disease, and advanced dementia.
(ii) The defendant is
(I) suffering from a serious physical or medical condition,
(II) suffering from a serious functional or cognitive impairment, or
(III) experiencing deteriorating physical or mental health because of the aging process,
that substantially diminishes the ability of the defendant to provide self-care within the environment of a correctional facility and from which he or she is not expected to recover.
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, app. note 1(A).
Specifically, Mr. Krashna argues that his medical conditions are the type "from which he [...] is not expected to recover" and that he has experienced significant health problems while in custody at Santa Rita Jail. Mr. Krashna argues that the existence of COVID-19 at Santa Rita Jail exacerbates his vulnerability to illness due to his deteriorating health.
The Government does not oppose Mr. Krashna's request for compassionate release on the merits. The Government, however, asks the Court to: "(1) wait to issue an order, or stay its order, until exhaustion is satisfied on June 18, 2020, (2) order any release only after defendant's release and travel plans are in place, and (3) set any release 14 days from the date of its order to accommodate the BOP's ability to quarantine defendant prior to his release to protect the community from potential further spread." (Opp. at 7.) The Government also argues that two special conditions of supervised release should be imposed—the imposition of home confinement until September 5, 2020, which is Mr. Krashna's anticipated date of release, and the condition that Mr. Krashna abide by all court orders previously imposed upon him.
Mr. Krashna does not oppose the Government's requests "except to the extent that proposed conditions of release unduly restrict his right to familial association or are unconstitutionally vague," (Reply at 1-2), but he does not specifically argue that the proposed requests are either an undue restriction or unconstitutionally vague.
The Court has reviewed the papers and agrees with the parties that compassionate release is appropriate given Mr. Krashna's medical conditions, particularly coronary artery disease, which renders him especially vulnerable to serious illness were he to contract COVID-19. People Who Are at Higher Risk , Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-at-higher-risk.html. Accordingly, the Court finds that Mr. Krashna's circumstances present extraordinary and compelling reasons under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, app. note 1(A) for release, and GRANTS Mr. Krashna's motion. However, the Court also finds that the exhaustion requirement will not be satisfied until June 18, 2020, and accordingly stays Mr. Krashna's release until that date.
CONCLUSION
The Court HEREBY ORDERS that Mr. Krashna's sentence of imprisonment shall be modified to time served. The remaining portion of his original term of imprisonment shall be served as supervised release with the special conditions that: (1) Mr. Krashna shall be subject to home confinement through September 5, 2020; and (2) Mr. Krashna shall comply with all previous court orders to the extent they are still in effect. This term shall be followed by the three-year term of supervised release imposed in the original sentence subject to the original conditions. (Dkt. No. 37.) Because Mr. Krashna will not have exhausted his administrative remedies until June 18, 2020, the Court stays implementation of this order until that time. The Court further orders that prior to Mr. Krashna's release, the parties and the Probation Office shall finalize a viable release plan incorporating the above special conditions and including a plan for where Mr. Krashna will reside upon release, how he will support himself, and how he will receive and pay for any medical treatment he may require.
The Government's request for the imposition of this condition is based on a protective order and vexatious litigant order previously placed against Mr. Krashna. (See Dkt. No. 33.) The Government states that it is not aware of the status of either order. To the extent that these orders are still in effect, Mr. Krashna is ordered to comply with them as a condition of release.
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The BOP shall place Mr. Krashna in quarantine immediately, so that he may serve a 14-day period of quarantine before his release. In the event Mr. Krashna is still serving his 14-day quarantine on June 18, 2020, he shall be released from custody immediately upon completion of quarantine.