UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

NORTHERN DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Plaintiff, Case No. 15-cr-20097 

v. Honorable Thomas L. Ludington 

AMEER JAN KIANI, 

 Defendant. 

_______________________________________/ 

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR RELIEF 

 The Government filed an Information against Defendant Ameer Kiani on February 24, 

2015 charging him with making threats against former presidents. ECF No. 10. On April 8, 2015, 

Kiani entered into a plea agreement whereby he pled not guilty only by reason of insanity, see 18 

U.S.C. § 4243. A plea hearing was held that same day. Kiani’s plea was accepted and, on May 5, 

2015, a special verdict was entered reflecting his plea of not guilty only by reason of insanity. 

See Sp. Verd., ECF No. 19. 

The Special Verdict committed Kiani to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons and 

scheduled an evidentiary hearing where Kiani had the burden, under 18 U.S.C. § 4243(d), “of 

proving by clear and convincing evidence that his release would not create a substantial risk of 

bodily injury to another person or serious damage of property of another due to a present mental 

disease or defect.” 18 U.S.C. § 4243(d). An evidentiary hearing was held on June 8, 2015. Kiani 

presented evidence at the hearing and at the close of proofs the Court found that defendant Kiani 

failed to meet his burden of proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence that his release 

would not create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious damage of 

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property of another due to present mental disease. Kiani was committed to the custody of the 

Attorney General, to be held in a suitable facility until his mental condition is such that his 

release, or his conditional release under prescribed regimen of medical, psychiatric or 

psychological care or treatment, would not create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another 

person or serious damage to property of another. 

 Under 18 U.S.C. § 4243(d), “[w]hen the director of the facility in which an acquitted 

person is hospitalized pursuant to subsection (e) determines that the person has recovered from 

his mental disease or defect to such an extent that his release, or his conditional release under a 

prescribed regimen of medical, psychiatric, or psychological care or treatment, would no longer 

create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious damage to property of 

another, he shall promptly file a certificate to that effect with the clerk of the court that ordered 

the commitment.” When such a certificate is sent, the Court must either release the defendant, 

here Kiani, or hold a hearing “to determine whether he should be released.” Id. 

 Problematic for Kiani, and prompting his current motion, is that under 18 U.S.C. § 

4247(e)(1)(B) the director of the facility in which Kiani is held prepares a report concerning the 

need for his continued commitment once per year. This process is not sufficiently speedy for 

Kiani, who seeks more immediate release. He has moved, under 18 U.S.C. § 4247(h), for a 

hearing to be held on his suitability for release from custody in advance of the one year reporting 

period. Section 4247(h) states: 

Regardless of whether the director of the facility in which a person is committed 

has filed a certificate pursuant to the provisions of subsection (e) of section 4241, 

4244, 4245, 4246, or 4248, or subsection (f) of section 4243, counsel for the 

person or his legal guardian may, at any time during such person’s commitment, 

file with the court that ordered the commitment a motion for a hearing to 

determine whether the person should be discharged from such facility, but no 

such motion may be filed within one hundred and eighty days of a court 

determination that the person should continue to be committed. A copy of the 

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motion shall be sent to the director of the facility in which the person is 

committed and to the attorney for the Government. 

Although the statute contemplates an expedited hearing in advance of a report from the facility 

director overseeing Kiani, it does not entitle Kiani to such a hearing. The hearing that Kiani 

seeks to obtain would be not different than the evidentiary hearing that preceded his commitment 

to the facility where he is currently held. That is, Kiani would still need to demonstrate that “(1) 

his release would no longer create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious 

damage to property of another . . . or (2) his conditional release under a prescribed regimen of 

medical, psychiatric, or psychological care or treatment would no longer create a substantial risk 

of bodily injury to another person or serious damage to property of another.” 18 U.S.C. § 

4243(f)(1)&(2). 

 Allowing Kiani to obtain the evidentiary hearing he seeks without any explanation of the 

proofs he would present during the hearing would be an exercise in futility. At least one court 

has held that under 18 U.S.C. § 4247(h) a defendant must make a reasonably specific offer of 

proof to obtain the sought after hearing. United States v. Cooke, Case No. 5:09HC02034, ECF 

No. 148 (E.D.N.C. Dec. 17, 2013) (also see other cases from the Eastern District of North 

Carolina holding same). That approach is sound. And under that approach, Kiani is not entitled 

to a hearing. As Kiani himself admits, he has no evidence that his condition has materially 

improved such that he can produce any, let alone some evidence that would help him meet his 

burden. Kiani seeks only to present his own testimony at the hearing with nothing more. This is 

the same approach that resulted in his commitment on June 8, 2015 when a medical expert 

testified that Kiani should not be released. Kiani has no medical evidence to present. He cites to 

the Government’s response where the Government quotes one of Kiani’s physicians as 

explaining that he is “doing well from a treatment standpoint.” But this statement comes with the 

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caveat that there are still risk factors to be assessed and that Kiani is on the normal one-year riskassessment schedule. 

 While the Court could order an expedited report, there is nothing in the record to justify 

this relief. The fact that Kiani is responding well to treatment is indeed positive. But it tells 

nothing about the current state of his mental health or his ability to meet his burden of proof at a 

hearing. If Kiani obtains medical evidence supporting his ability to meet his burden of proof at 

an evidentiary hearing, this order may be revisited. Short of that, an evidentiary hearing will not 

be held on the basis of conjecture and in the absence of medical evidence. Kiani’s motion will be 

denied. 

 Finally, Kiani included a subsidiary request in his motion. He asks that the Court “enter 

an order transferring custody to the State of Michigan Department of Mental Health, his home 

state.” ECF No. 21 at 2. But he does not include any authority supporting the claim that the 

Court has that authority. In fact, the statute under which Kiani was committed demonstrates the 

opposite: that his detention is committed to the discretion of the Attorney General, who must 

place him in a suitable facility to meet his medical needs. Kiani’s request for transfer will not be 

granted. 

 Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Defendant Ameer Kiani’s motion for relief, ECF No. 

21, is DENIED. 

Dated: January 22, 2016 s/Thomas L. Ludington 

 THOMAS L. LUDINGTON 

 United States District Judge 

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PROOF OF SERVICE 

The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing order was served 

upon each attorney or party of record herein by electronic means or first 

class U.S. mail on January 22, 2016. 

 s/Michael A. Sian 

 MICHAEL A. SIAN, Case Manager 

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