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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Plaintiff, Case No. 15-cr-20457-2 

 Hon. Matthew F. Leitman 

v. 

KIARA HOBBS, 

 Defendant. 

__________________________________________________________________/ 

ORDER TO CLARIFY 

 Defendant Kiara Hobbs is currently incarcerated at FCI Hazelton. She is 

serving a sentence of 85 months imprisonment – 1 month for Hobbs Act robbery, in 

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a)(2), and 84 months for using and carrying a firearm 

during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2). 

(See Judgment, ECF No. 184, PageID.2120–2121.) 

 Hobbs has submitted two letters to the Court. (See ECF Nos. 200 & 201.) The 

letters were sent on August 4, 2020. Due to delays in processing pro se mail, 

however, Hobbs’ letters were not filed on the Court’s docket until August 27, 2020. 

The letters are difficult to read as currently uploaded to the Court’s docket, but they 

appear to request compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3581(c)(1)(A). 

Under Section 3582(c)(1)(A), a defendant may not file a motion for 

compassionate release until “after the defendant has fully exhausted all 

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administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion 

on the defendant’s behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request 

by the warden of the defendant’s facility, whichever is earlier.” The exhaustion 

requirement in Section 3582(c)(1)(A) is “mandatory” and is not subject to any 

“judge-made exceptions.” United States v. Alam, 960 F.3d 831, 833–36 (6th Cir. 

2020). 

Hobbs has not given the Court enough information to determine whether she 

has satisfied this exhaustion requirement. Therefore, the Court DIRECTS Hobbs 

to file a supplement to her letters that informs the Court whether she has submitted 

a written request for compassionate release to the warden at FCI Hazelton. If Hobbs 

has submitted a written request for compassionate release to the warden, then Hobbs 

shall also inform the Court of the date on which she submitted the request, whether 

the warden responded to the request, and the date of the warden’s response (if any). 

If either (1) Hobbs has not submitted a request for compassionate release to 

the warden, or (2) Hobbs has submitted such a request but 30 days have not lapsed 

since the warden received her request, then the Court will dismiss her current filings 

(ECF Nos. 200 & 201) without prejudice. In that event, Hobbs would be permitted 

to file a motion seeking compassionate release (or the appointment of an attorney to 

review such a motion) upon exhausting her remedies. 

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Additionally, Hobbs has not given the Court enough information to determine 

whether she is otherwise qualified for compassionate release. Accordingly, the 

Court DIRECTS Hobbs to use her supplement to also inform the Court why she 

believes she qualifies for compassionate release. 

 IT IS SO ORDERED. 

 s/Matthew F. Leitman 

 MATTHEW F. LEITMAN 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

Dated: August 27, 2020 

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

parties and/or counsel of record on August 27, 2020, by electronic means and/or 

ordinary mail. 

 s/Holly A. Monda 

 Case Manager 

 (810) 341-9764 

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