United States v. Giron

15 F.4th 1343

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.Martin Enrique Mondrago GIRON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 20-14018

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

Filed: October 13, 2021

Peter J. Sholl, U.S. Attorney's Office, TAMPA, FL, U.S. Attorney Service-Middle District of Florida, TAMPA, FL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Martin Enrique Mondrago Giron, Pro Se.

Before Newsom, Lagoa, and Anderson, Circuit Judges.

Anderson, Circuit Judge:

Martin Enrique Mondrago Giron, a Colombian national and federal prisoner proceeding pro se , appeals the denial of his motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Giron argues that the district court erred in two ways: first, it improperly relied upon a policy statement of the Sentencing Commission when deciding whether an "extraordinary and compelling" reason existed to reduce Giron's sentence, U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 ; second, the district court abused its discretion by not considering the sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

We review de novo whether a defendant is eligible for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). United States v. Bryant , 996 F.3d 1243, 1251 (11th Cir. 2021). After eligibility is established, we review a district court's denial of a prisoner's § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion for abuse of discretion. United States v. Harris , 989 F.3d 908, 911 (11th Cir. 2021). The abuse of discretion standard of review "is not simply a rubber stamp." United States v. Johnson , 877 F.3d 993, 997 (11th Cir. 2017) (quoting United States v. Docampo , 573 F.3d 1091, 1104 (11th Cir. 2009) (Barkett, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part)). "A court must explain its sentencing decisions adequately enough to allow for meaningful appellate review." Id. This standard of review, though, does afford district courts a "range of choice," and we "cannot reverse just because we might have come to a different conclusion." Harris , 989 F.3d at 912 (quoting Sloss Indus. Corp. v. Eurisol , 488 F.3d 922, 934 (11th Cir. 2007) ). A district court abuses its discretion if it applies an incorrect legal standard, follows improper procedures in making its determination, or makes clearly erroneous factual findings. Id. at 911.

I.

We begin with Giron's first issue—did the district court err by relying upon U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, the Sentencing Commission's policy statement, and denying his request for compassionate release. A district court has no inherent authority to modify a defendant's sentence and may do so "only when authorized by a statute or rule." United States v. Puentes , 803 F.3d 597, 606 (11th Cir. 2015). A statutory exception exists for compassionate release.

18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Under this exception, a district court may grant a prisoner's motion for compassionate release after determining that (1) "extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction," (2) "such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission," and (3) § 3553(a) sentencing factors weigh in favor of a reduction. Id. The Sentencing Commission has issued a policy statement concerning this exception: Section 1B1.13. The application notes for Section 1B1.13 identify four general categories of "extraordinary and compelling reasons": medical, age, family, and a "catch-all ‘other reasons’ category." Bryant , 996 F.3d at 1249–50 (citing U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 cmt. n.1). If a district court finds that an extraordinary and compelling reason exists, it must also determine that "[t]he defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community" before granting compassionate release. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(2).

On appeal, Giron argues that the policy statement does not constrain district courts from independently assessing whether extraordinary and compelling reasons exist. He further argues that the confluence of his medical conditions and COVID-19 creates an extraordinary and compelling reason warranting compassionate release under either the medical or catch-all provisions of Section 1B1.13. Under this Court's recent precedent, however, Giron is incorrect on both counts.

First, we have recently held that Section 1B1.13 constrains district courts’ authority to identify when extraordinary and compelling reasons exist. Bryant , 996 F.3d at 1262. The compassionate release exception requires that any sentence reduction be "consistent with applicable policy statements." 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). In Bryant , we concluded that Section 1B1.13 "is an applicable policy statement that governs all motions under Section 3582(c)(1)(A)." 996 F.3d at 1262. "Accordingly, district courts may not reduce a sentence under Section 3582(c)(1)(A) unless a reduction would be consistent with 1B1.13." Id. This "consistent-with requirement" means that Section 1B1.13 is "binding on district courts" that are adjudicating motions for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Id. at 1251–52. Thus, under Bryant , the only circumstances that can rise to the level of extraordinary and compelling reasons for compassionate release are limited to those extraordinary and compelling reasons as described by Section 1B1.13.

Second, we cannot conclude that the district court erred in concluding that Giron had failed to demonstrate extraordinary and compelling reasons for compassionate release. Giron asserts only medical reasons. Under the governing policy statement, the only medical conditions that rise to the level of extraordinary and compelling are as follows: if the medical condition (i) is a terminal illness or (ii) "substantially diminishes the ability of the defendant to provide self-care within" prison. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 cmt. n.1(A). The Government, in its response to Giron's motion for compassionate release, argued that Giron's high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease were manageable in prison, despite the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The district court adopted the Government's response in full when denying compassionate release, and we cannot conclude that the district court erred. See Harris , 989 F.3d at 912 (holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying compassionate release to an inmate with hypertension despite the increased risk of death or severe medical complications from COVID-19).

The catch-all provision likewise cannot provide Giron relief. As stated in Section 1B1.13 ’s application notes, in addition to the descriptions of extraordinary and compelling reasons in the medical, age, and family categories, the application notes provide for a catch-all (other reasons) category, but only "[a]s determined by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons." U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 cmt. n.1(D). We held in Bryant that this language precluded district courts from finding extraordinary and compelling reasons within the catch-all provision beyond those specified by the Sentencing Commission in Section 1B1.13. 996 F.3d at 1263–65. Therefore, the district court did not err by finding that no extraordinary and compelling reason existed as defined by Section 1B1.13.

II.

Giron's second argument on appeal is that the district court abused its discretion by denying his motion for compassionate release without weighing the sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A),¹ a district court may not grant compassionate release unless it makes three findings. United States v. Tinker , 14 F.4th 1234, 1237–38 (11th Cir. Sept. 28, 2021).² Those three findings, which Tinker holds need not be made in any particular order, id. , are: first, that an extraordinary and compelling reason exists; second, that a sentencing reduction would be consistent with U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13³ ; and third, that § 3553(a) factors weigh in favor of compassionate release. Here, by adopting the Government's response in full, the district court seemingly addressed only the first issue: whether an extraordinary and compelling reason existed. The Government's response noted that the second and third issues were relevant if the district court were to grant compassionate release, but it did not independently analyze them. This raises a question: does a district court abuse its discretion by denying compassionate release after analyzing only one of the three statutory requirements under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) ? Based on the plain text of the statute and our recent precedent, we conclude that the answer is no.

A.

When denying a request for compassionate release, a district court need not analyze the § 3553(a) factors if it finds either that no extraordinary and compelling reason exists or that the defendant is a danger to the public. Our very recent decision in Tinker so holds, as discussed more fully below. Similarly, the text of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) plainly provides that a district court may grant compassionate release only "after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable," and only after making two additional findings:

(1) that "extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction," and

(2) "that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission."

The clear inference from the language—"after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a)"—is that the third finding a district court must make before granting compassionate release is that the § 3553(a) factors favor compassionate release. To demonstrate that compassionate release is available only if the district court makes all three findings, we set forth verbatim the relevant language of the statute, inserting in brackets [1], [2], and [3] reflecting the three necessary findings:

(c) Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment.—The court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed except that—

(1) in any case—

(A) the court ... may reduce the term of imprisonment ... [3] after considering the factors set forth in section

...