UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

United States of America, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

Jesus Rodriguez, 

Defendant. 

________________________________/

Case No. 14-20425 

Judith E. Levy 

United States District Judge 

Mag. Judge David R. Grand 

ORDER DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE DEFENDANT’S 

MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE [491] 

This case is before the Court on Defendant Jesus Rodriguez’s 

October 7, 20201 request for information about compassionate release, 

which the Court interprets as a motion for compassionate release 

pursuant to 18 U.S.C § 3582(c)(1)(A). (ECF No. 491.) 

Defendant indicates that he does not have a “health issue,” but that 

his father has recently passed away from cancer. (ECF No. 491, 

PageID.2713.) Defendant also indicates that his mother suffers from 

hypertension and a “hole in her heart.” (Id. at PageID.2714.) Defendant 

1 Docketed on October 29, 2020. 

Case 5:14-cr-20425-JEL-DRG ECF No. 494, PageID.2738 Filed 11/02/20 Page 1 of 4
asks what he “ha[s] to do to get a compassionate release and also get it 

granted so I can get home to my family.” (Id.) 

The Court extends its deepest sympathies to Defendant for his loss. 

Defendant’s motion is denied without prejudice for the two reasons below, 

but Defendant is free to file a renewed compassionate release motion 

should he follow the proper procedure and provide justifications for 

compassionate release. 

First, Defendant’s motion did not indicate whether he had applied 

for compassionate release from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and if so, 

whether 30 days had elapsed since the request or whether he had been 

denied and then exhausted his administrative appeals. The Court may 

not consider compassionate release motions unless Defendant first meets 

one of these two statutory conditions. United States v. Alam, No. 20-1298, 

2020 WL 2845694, at *5 (6th Cir. June 2, 2020). 

Second, Defendant has not provided the Court with sufficient 

information to evaluate his motion. The compassionate release statute 

allows the Court to modify a defendant’s term of imprisonment if 

“extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction.” 18 

U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). The United States Sentencing Guidelines define 

Case 5:14-cr-20425-JEL-DRG ECF No. 494, PageID.2739 Filed 11/02/20 Page 2 of 4
“extraordinary and compelling reasons” as “suffering from a serious 

physical or medical condition . . . that substantially diminishes the ability 

of the defendant to provide self-care within the environment of a 

correctional facility and from which he or she is not expected to recover.” 

U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 n.1(A). Alternatively, “extraordinary and compelling 

reasons” can also encompass “family circumstances,” defined as “[t]he 

death or incapacitation of the caregiver of the defendant’s minor child or 

minor children” or “incapacitation of the defendant’s spouse or registered 

partner when the defendant would be the only available caregiver for the 

spouse or registered partner.” Id. at n.1(C). Finally, “extraordinary and 

compelling reasons” can also consist of “other reasons” clearly explained 

by the defendant. Id. at n.1(D). Because Defendant’s motion does not 

explain why his circumstances entitle him to compassionate release 

under any of these categories, the Court has insufficient information to 

evaluate his motion. 

Accordingly, Defendant’s motion is DENIED WITHOUT 

PREJUDICE. Defendant may renew his motion after following the 

administrative procedures as described above and should extraordinary 

and compelling reasons arise. 

Case 5:14-cr-20425-JEL-DRG ECF No. 494, PageID.2740 Filed 11/02/20 Page 3 of 4
 IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: November 2, 2020 s/Judith E. Levy 

Ann Arbor, Michigan JUDITH E. LEVY 

United States District Judge 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served 

upon counsel of record and any unrepresented parties via the Court’s 

ECF System to their respective email or First Class U.S. mail addresses 

disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on November 2, 2020. 

s/William Barkholz 

WILLIAM BARKHOLZ 

Case Manager 

Case 5:14-cr-20425-JEL-DRG ECF No. 494, PageID.2741 Filed 11/02/20 Page 4 of 4