USA V. GEORGE FOWER, No. 21-50007 (9th Cir. 2022)
Annotate this Case
Defendant was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment following a conviction for wire fraud. With the government’s consent, Defendant was allowed to self-surrender to the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”). Before he was required to turn himself in, Defendant sought compassionate release through the BOP. After the BOP did not respond to his requests, Defendant filed a motion for compassionate release in the district court.
The district court denied Defendant’s motion for compassionate release, finding him ineligible because he was not yet in custody at the time he filed the motion. The Ninth Circuit affirmed. In discussing a district court’s ability to modify a sentence, 18 U.S.C. sec. 3582(c)(1)(A) provides, the court “may reduce the term of imprisonment . . . that does not exceed the unserved portion of the original term of imprisonment.” This implies that a defendant’s term of incarceration has begun. Thus, the Ninth Circuit held that the district court properly denied Defendant's motion for compassionate release because he was not in custody when it was filed.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Affirming the district court’s denial of a motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), the panel held, as a matter of first impression in this circuit, that compassionate relief is not available to defendants prior to incarceration.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.