Description: Great Falls, Montana criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Joshua Alberto Rodriguez moved the Court to reduce his sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). (Doc. 1058.) Rodriguez is currently serving a sentence of 270 months for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of the commission of a drug trafficking crime, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. (Doc. 760.) Rodriguez has served approximately 93 months of his sentence.


The First Step Act amended the United States Code to “promote rehabilitation of prisoners and unwind decades of mass incarceration.” United States v. Brown, 411 F.Supp.3d 446, 448 (S.D. Iowa 2019). The First Step Act amendments to 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) and 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) prove especially relevant to Rodriguez's motion.

Where, as here, a motion for a sentence reduction is well taken, the Court may modify a term of imprisonment following a finding that “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction.” Id. When deciding whether to reduce a sentence, the Court must consider the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and whether the reduction proves “consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.” Id. § 3582(c)(1)-(2).

Congress has not defined those circumstances that rise to the level of “extraordinary and compelling,” except to say that “[r]ehabilitation of the defendant alone” is insufficient. 28 U.S.C. § 994(t); Brown, 411 F.Supp.3d at 448. The law

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instead directs the Sentencing Commission to issue a policy statement in which it describes “what should be considered extraordinary and compelling reasons for sentence reduction, including the criteria to be applied and a list of specific examples.” 28 U.S.C. § 994(t); Brown, 411 F.Supp.3d at 448.

The relevant Sentencing Commission policy statement lies in USSG § 1B1.13, titled Reduction in Term of Imprisonment Under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) (“Policy Statement”). Notably, the Sentencing Commission has not amended the Policy Statement since passage of the First Step Act. See United States v. Haynes, 456 F.Supp.3d 496, 507 (E.D.N.Y. 2020); Brown, 411 F.Supp.3d at 448. A number of district courts have noted the unlikelihood of the Sentencing Commission updating the Policy Statement in the foreseeable future, as the Sentencing Commission requires four voting Commissioners to adopt a proposed amendment, and currently has only two voting Commissioners. See, e.g., Haynes, 456 F.Supp.3d at 510 n.20; Brown, 411 F.Supp.3d at 449 n.1; United States v. Cantu, 423 F.Supp.3d 345, 347-48 n.1 (S.D. Tex. 2019); United States v. Maumau, No. 2:08-cr-00758-TC-11, 2020 WL 806121, at *1 n.3 (D. Utah Feb. 18, 2020); United States v. Fox, No. 2:14-cr-03-DBH, 2019 WL 3046086, at *3 (D. Me. July 11, 2019); United States v. Handerhan, No. 110-CR-00298, 2019 WL 1437903, at *1 n.4 (M.D. Pa. Apr. 1, 2019).
United States v. Rodriguez (D. Mont. 2022)

Outcome: Rodriguez's motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) is GRANTED, IN PART, AND DENIED, IN PART. The Court reduces Rodriguez's sentence to a total period of 222 months.

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