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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Plaintiff, Case No. 15-cr-20093 

 Hon. Matthew F. Leitman 

v. 

CHRISTIAN MACGREGOR, 

 Defendant. 

__________________________________________________________________/ 

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S 

MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION (ECF No. 338) 

Defendant Christian MacGregor is a federal inmate in the custody of the 

Federal Bureau of Prisons. On November 17, 2020, MacGregor filed a motion for 

compassionate release. (See Mot. for Compassionate Release, ECF No. 315.) The 

Court thereafter appointed counsel for MacGregor (see Order, ECF No. 317), and 

counsel filed a supplemental brief on MacGregor’s behalf. (See MacGregor Supp. 

Br., ECF No. 321.) In the original motion and supplemental brief, MacGregor 

argued that there were extraordinary and compelling circumstances warranting his 

compassionate release because (1) he suffers from health conditions that put him at 

serious risk from the COVID-19 virus and (2) he faced a meaningful risk of 

contracting (or re-contracting) the virus while in custody. (See id.) 

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The Court held a video hearing on MacGregor’s motion on March 12, 2021, 

and it denied the motion. (See Order, ECF No. 335.) The Court concluded, among 

other things, that MacGregor had failed to show that there were extraordinary and 

compelling reasons justifying his release because a COVID-19 vaccine had been 

offered to him, and he declined to take the vaccine. 

On March 26, 2021, MacGregor, no longer acting through counsel, filed a pro 

se motion for reconsideration pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e). (See 

Mot., ECF No. 338.) MacGregor explained that he did not take the vaccine when it 

was offered to him because he had tested positive for COVID-19 on December 19, 

2020, and some medical literature suggested that a person who was infected with 

COVID-19 should wait “90 days before receiving a vaccination.” (Id., PageID.2171-

2172.) MacGregor also suggested that he continued to suffer negative effects from 

his COVID-19 infection. (See id., PageID.2173-2174.) 

MacGregor has failed to persuade the Court that it erred when it denied his 

motion and concluded that there were not extraordinary and compelling reasons 

justifying his release. First, MacGregor could have, but did not, argue during the 

hearing on his motion that he turned down a COVID-19 vaccine because he had 

previously been infected with COVID-19 and wanted to wait at least 90 days from 

the date of that infection before taking the vaccine. A motion for reconsideration is 

“not an opportunity to re-argue a case” and “to raise [new] arguments which could, 

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and should, have been made” earlier. Sault Ste. Marie v. Engler, 146 F.3d 367, 374 

(6th Cir. 1998) (affirming denial of motion for reconsideration under Federal Rule 

of Civil Procedure 59(e)). Second (and much more importantly), more than 90 days 

has passed since MacGregor was infected with COVID-19, and thus the impediment 

to being vaccinated that MacGregor identified (i.e., the 90-day period after his 

infection) is now no longer an obstacle to MacGregor receiving a vaccine. 

MacGregor has not suggested that the vaccine is not available to him, and, indeed, 

MacGregor has told the Court that he is on a “waiting list” for the vaccine. (Mot., 

ECF No. 338, PageID.2172.) The Court believes that MacGregor can now 

reasonably mitigate his risks from COVID-19 by taking the vaccine that has been 

offered to him. 

For all of these reasons, MacGregor has not shown that the Court erred when 

it denied his motion for compassionate release, nor has he shown that extraordinary 

and compelling circumstances warranting his release now exist. MacGregor’s 

motion for reconsideration (ECF No. 338) is therefore DENIED. 

 IT IS SO ORDERED. 

 s/Matthew F. Leitman 

 MATTHEW F. LEITMAN 

 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

Dated: April 12, 2021 

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I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon the 

parties and/or counsel of record on April 12, 2021, by electronic means and/or 

ordinary mail. 

 s/Holly A. Monda 

 Case Manager 

 (810) 341-9764

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