Court Opinion

ID: 9400345
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-08 00:01:42.139895+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:43.937231
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-10005        Document: 00516777925             Page: 1      Date Filed: 06/07/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 23-10005
                                    Summary Calendar                                   FILED
                                    ____________                                     June 7, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Christopher Lee Gonzales,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Northern District of Texas
                               USDC No. 5:16-CR-27-2
                     ______________________________

   Before King, Higginson, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Christopher Lee Gonzales, federal prisoner # 54338-177, appeals the
   denial of his second motion for a reduction of his sentence (commonly known
   as a motion for compassionate release), filed pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
   § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). Gonzales contends that the district court erred because
   it failed to consider whether his family circumstances, a change in the law

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-10005     Document: 00516777925           Page: 2   Date Filed: 06/07/2023

                                    No. 23-10005

   affecting his sentencing, his medical conditions, and his rehabilitation, when
   considered in the conjunctive, constituted extraordinary and compelling
   reasons warranting a sentence reduction.
          Here, in addition to determining that Gonzales had failed to establish
   extraordinary and compelling reasons, the district court denied relief on the
   alternative ground that a sentence reduction was not warranted based on an
   application of the sentencing factors of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). We routinely
   affirm the denial of a compassionate release motion “where the district
   court’s weighing of the [§] 3553(a) factors can independently support its
   judgment.” United States v. Jackson, 27 F.4th 1088, 1092 (5th Cir. 2022).
          As Gonzales raises no argument challenging the district court’s
   independent determination that the § 3553(a) factors did not warrant a
   sentence reduction in his case, he has abandoned the issue. See Yohey
   v. Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 224-25 (5th Cir. 1993). Accordingly, the decision of
   the district court is AFFIRMED.

                                              2