MEDINA

v.

UNITED STATES

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon the Emergency Motion for Compassionate Release, ECF No. (“Motion”), submitted by Plaintiff Brandon L. Medina’s mother, Michele Medina (“Movant”).¹ The Court has considered the Motion, the record in this case, the applicable law, and is otherwise fully advised. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is denied. According to the Motion, Plaintiff “has health issues already in effect” and the COVID-19 pandemic has apparently made its way to the correctional facility where Plaintiff is currently housed. Movant requests early release on Plaintiff’s behalf. Upon review, the Motion is unwarranted—procedurally and substantively. On the procedural side, the Motion fails to present any power of attorney or other authority conferring standing on Movant to seek the present relief. While the Court certainly appreciates that the Movant is Plaintiff’s mother (the Defendant in the criminal case), and understands her concern, that status does not establish the requisite legal authority. It is also unclear whether

LLC v. Elec. Cigarettes Outlet, LLC, No. 12-23092, 2013 WL 5567320, at *1 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 3, 2013). The Court and judicial staff must immediately set other matters aside to quickly address the emergency. Id. Examples of a bona fide emergency include “risks to the health and safety of individuals, situations where a person is about to be deported, scenarios involving the imminent destruction of property, circumstances under which a business is in real danger of immediate failure or significant financial collapse, or cases where someone is at risk of being denied an essential service.” Id. The grounds raised in the Motion do not constitute an emergency. Finally, on the substantive side, the Motion fails to present any basis to invoke compassionate release apart from a reference to Plaintiff’s “health issues,” which are not described or otherwise supported. But more importantly, the Court already considered and denied Plaintiff’s prior motion for compassionate release in his criminal case on September 11, 2020. See Case No. 14-cr-60103, CR ECF No. (“Order”). That earlier request was founded largely on Plaintiff’s concerns about contracting a severe case of the virus given his underlying medical conditions, such as obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, and generalized anxiety disorder. In the Order, the Court noted that although it was sympathetic to Plaintiff’s health conditions and his concerns regarding COVID-19 outbreaks in prison facilities, he nonetheless failed to satisfy the “extraordinary and compelling reasons” test to warrant compassionate release. Id. at 6. Shortly after the Order was issued, Plaintiff filed a Letter for Consideration, again requesting the Court to reduce his sentence and grant him compassionate release. CR ECF No. . The Court denied that motion, which it construed as a motion for reconsideration, given the Order and there were “no additional facts or circumstances that warrant reconsideration.” CR ECF No. (“Reconsideration Order”). The instant Motion, now filed several weeks after the Order and Reconsideration Order were issued, fails to present any bases for another reconsideration of the Order. The Court is sympathetic to Plaintiff’s health concerns and Movant’s concerns for her son’s wellbeing, but “the BOP Director has not found COVID-19 alone to be a basis for compassionate release.” United States v. Harris, No. 2:12-cr-140-FtM-29DNF, 2020 WL 1969951, at *2 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 24, 2020) (citing United States v. Eberhart, No. 13-cr-313-PJH-1, 2020 WL 1450745, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 25, 2020) (“General concerns about possible exposure to COVID-19 do not meet the criteria for extraordinary and compelling reasons for a reduction in sentence set forth in the Sentencing Commission’s policy statement on compassionate release, U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13.”)); see also United States v. Kelly, No. 2:03-cr-126-FtM-29, 2020 WL 2039726, at *1 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 28, 2020) (The “defendant does not allege any extraordinary or Case No. 20-cv-61036-Bloom/O’ Sullivan compelling circumstances to support compassionate release.”). Therefore, the Motion 1s unavailing. Accordingly, itis ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that: 1. The Emergency Motion for Compassionate Release in Case Number 20-cv-61036, ECF No. , is DENIED. 2. The Emergency Motion for Compassionate Release in Case Number 14-cr-60103, ECF No. , is DENIED. DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida, on October 22, 2020.

BETH BLOOM

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Copies furnished to: Counsel of record

Brandon L. Medina 05196-104 Allenwood Medium Federal Correctional Institution Inmate Mail/Parcels Post Office Box 2000 White Deer, PA 17887