First Circuit: US v. Saccoccia

 

Pandemic disease does not transform aggregated minor health concerns into the extraordinary and compelling justificaiton for early release required by statute.

Actual diagnosis, rather than the presence of diagnostic markers indicating likelihood but not certainty, is required in a petition for early release on compassionate grounds.

While material interference by prison administration or stonewalling of medical testing can be the basis of a claim of extraordinary and compelling justification, the record here does not support such a claim.

District Court's averral that it was exercising its broad discretion in denying early release given the balance of the factors was sufficient; there was no need to mechanically review each of the sentencing factors.


http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/20-2045P-01A.pdf