Latest Case: United States v. Elias (Civil Rights)

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United States v. Elias

Docket: 20-3654

Opinion Date: January 6, 2021

Judge: McKEAGUE

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Elias pled guilty to drug possession and distribution conspiracy; in 2017, she was sentenced to 108 months' imprisonment. She is confined at FPC Alderson, with a projected release date of November 2024. Elias filed a pro se “Emergency Motion for Immediate Release Due to COVID-19” in April 2020. In June, with appointed counsel, she filed a supplemental motion for a reduction of her sentence under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), arguing that her hypertension exacerbated her risk of serious injury or death if she were to contract COVID-19. Elias requested that the warden file a compassionate-release motion and appealed the denial, satisfying the exhaustion requirements. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial of relief. U.S.S.G. 1B1.13 is not applicable to inmate-filed compassionate release motions under the First Step Act. In determining that there were not “extraordinary and compelling reasons,” the district court properly considered the CDC guidance, which then did not include hypertension; reviewed a scientific journal which stated that “there is as yet no evidence that hypertension is related to outcomes of COVID-19”; examined the BOP’s webpage and noted there were no reported cases at FPC Alderson; and concluded that speculation that COVID-19 could spread to FPC Alderson was insufficient to justify Elias’s release.