Granted compassionate release under the First Step Act for defendant convicted at trial of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Tax Evasion, two counts of Filing a False Federal Tax Return, and Conspiracy to File Retaliatory Liens. The court found exhaustion was met due to rejection of his petition by the BOP in 2019, which did not mention COVID-19. Release was given due to Defendant's low risk to the community (non-violent crime with no disciplinary history in prison) and high COVID-19 risk due to his: age, hypertension, atherosclerosis, a history of transient ischemic attacks, dyslipidemia, obesity, and cancers (nasopharyngeal plasmacytoma and prostatic adenocarcinoma). Defendant was re-sentenced to time served and 31 months home confinement.
United States v. Joling, No. 11-cr-60131 (AA), 2020 WL 1903280 (D. Or. Apr. 17, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
4/17/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Oregon
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
Yes
Compassionate Release Specific Characteristics
Went to trial
Case Tracking Number
6:11-cr-60131-AA
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Or.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Federal Prison
Name of Facility
FCI Butner
Legal Authority
First Step Act Exhaustion, First Step Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)
Release Conditions
Immediate release on April 20, 31 months (remainder of sentence) in home confinement.
Convictions
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371); Tax Evasion (26 U.S.C. § 7201); Two counts of Filing a False Federal Tax Return (26 U.S.C. § 7206(1)); Conspiracy to File Retaliatory Liens.
Case Status
Decision Made
Compassionate Release Exhaustion Holdingsin Federal Case
An individual does not need to “issue exhaust” (i.e., does not need to mention COVID-19 in their application to the warden in order to rely on it in the motion to the court).
Cancer (adenocarcinoma group 2 prostate cancer & nasopharyngeal plasmacytoma), Obesity (unspecified), Age (unspecified, but elderly).
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Yes
Litigation Database
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.