Court Opinion

ID: 9407695
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-08 00:01:08.398956+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:39.723386
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-10016         Document: 00516813869             Page: 1      Date Filed: 07/07/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 23-10016
                                     Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                     ____________                                     July 7, 2023
                                                                                  Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                           Clerk

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Demarcus Rakestraw,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Northern District of Texas
                               USDC No. 3:17-CR-469-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Jolly, Jones, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Demarcus Rakestraw, federal prisoner # 27612-177, appeals the
   district court’s denial of his request for compassionate release. He argues
   that the district court abused its discretion by not evaluating his declining
   health alongside his inability to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when denying
   him relief.

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-10016     Document: 00516813869           Page: 2   Date Filed: 07/07/2023

                                    No. 23-10016

          The district court did not abuse its discretion. See United States v.
   Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th Cir. 2020).         The court adequately
   considered Rakestraw’s arguments in favor of compassionate release, but it
   concluded that 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) weighed against it. See Chavez-Meza v.
   United States, 138 S. Ct. 1959, 1965-67 (2018); United States v. Escajeda, 58
   F.4th 184, 188 (5th Cir. 2023). The record supports the district court’s
   independent assessment of the § 3553(a) factors, and it is therefore
   unnecessary for us to discuss Rakestraw’s remaining claims. See United
   States v. Jackson, 27 F.4th 1088, 1093 n.8 (5th Cir. 2022); Ward v. United
   States, 11 F.4th 354, 360-62 (5th Cir. 2021); Chambliss, 948 F.3d at 693-94.
          AFFIRMED.

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