Court Opinion

ID: 9926207
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-24 01:00:35.427917+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:11.568262
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50432        Document: 00517041855             Page: 1      Date Filed: 01/23/2024

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 23-50432
                                    Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                    ____________                               January 23, 2024
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Luis Felipe Rodriguez,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                              USDC No. 2:14-CR-139-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Willett, Duncan, and Ramirez, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Luis Felipe Rodriguez, federal prisoner # 63052-180, appeals the
   district court’s denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) motion for
   compassionate release. He contends that he established extraordinary and
   compelling reasons for release because, pursuant to the First Step Act, his
   drug conspiracy conviction is no longer subject to a mandatory sentence of

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50432      Document: 00517041855           Page: 2    Date Filed: 01/23/2024

                                     No. 23-50432

   life imprisonment and if he were sentenced today, the district court could
   consider a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 or 25 years in prison.
   Rodriguez argues that the district court failed to take into account the
   potential for sentencing disparities and that the court should have granted
   him relief because it expressed reluctance to impose a life sentence at the time
   of his sentencing.
          We review for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Chambliss, 948
   F.3d 691, 693-94 (5th Cir. 2020).          The district court conducted an
   independent review of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and concluded that
   Rodriguez was not entitled to relief. Rodriguez has not shown that the
   district court abused its discretion in this conclusion. See id. at 693; see also
   Concepcion v. United States, 597 U.S. 481, 502 (2022). Because the district
   court’s independent § 3553(a) analysis supports the denial, it is unnecessary
   to consider whether Rodriguez established extraordinary and compelling
   reasons warranting relief. 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). Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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