United States v. Raia

CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)
Citation954 F.3d 594
Docket NumberNo. 20-1033,20-1033
Parties UNITED STATES of America, Appellant v. Francis RAIA
Decision Date02 April 2020

954 F.3d 594

UNITED STATES of America, Appellant
v.
Francis RAIA

No. 20-1033

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Filed: April 2, 2020


Mark E. Coyne, Steven G. Sanders, Office of United States Attorney, 970 Broad Street, Room 700, Newark, NJ 07102, Counsel for Appellant

Jenny Chung, Lee Vartan, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, One Boland Drive, West Orange, NJ 07052, David M. Dugan, Chiesa Shahinian Giantomasi, 11 Times Square, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10036, Alan L. Zegas, Law Offices of Alan L. Zegas, Third Floor West, 60 Morris Turnpike, Summit, NJ 07901, Counsel for Appellee

Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, AMBRO and CHAGARES, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

SMITH, Chief Judge.

The First Step Act empowers criminal defendants to request compassionate release for "extraordinary and compelling reasons." 18 U.S.C § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i).1 But before they make such requests, defendants must at least ask the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to do so on their behalf and give BOP thirty days to respond. See § 3582(c)(1)(A). And even then, defendants must first submit their motion to "the [sentencing] court"; we can only consider these motions on appeal. § 3582.

Nevertheless, Francis Raia asks us to decide his compassionate-release motion in the first instance. Alternatively, he asks us to dismiss the government's pending appeal

954 F.3d 596

so the District Court can decide the motion. But although he asked BOP to move for compassionate release on his behalf, he did not give it thirty days to respond. So we will deny Raia's motion.

I

While running for local office in Hoboken, New Jersey, Raia directed campaign volunteers to bribe voters with $50 payments to vote for him by absentee ballot and support a measure he favored. A jury convicted Raia of conspiring to use the mails to promote unlawful activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. See also 18 U.S.C. § 1952(b)(i)(2) (defining "unlawful activity" to include bribery). The District Court sentenced Raia to three months imprisonment, one year of supervised release, and a $50,000 fine. But the government thought the sentence was too lenient, having originally sought twenty-seven months imprisonment. It appealed to this Court under 18 U.S.C. § 3742(b).

On March 3, 2020, with the government's appeal pending, Raia reported to the federal correctional institute in Fairton, New Jersey to begin his sentence. Shortly thereafter, he asked BOP to move for compassionate release on his behalf. But before BOP responded, and before thirty days passed, Raia filed his own motion with the District Court for compassionate release given the present pandemic caused by COVID-19, a highly contagious respiratory virus which has already infected over 25,000 people in New Jersey and poses unique risks in population-dense prison facilities. See Federal Bureau of Prisons, COVID-19 Action Plan (Mar. 13, 2020, 3:09 PM), https://www.bop.gov/resources/news/20200313_covid-19.jsp; New Jersey, COVID-19 Information Hub , https://covid19.nj.gov/ (last updated Apr. 2, 2020, 1:00 PM). In particular, Raia claimed he faces heightened risk of serious illness or death from...

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  • United States v. Dodd
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas
    • 10 de julho de 2020
    ......For this reason, courts have concluded that an inmate's concerns about risks associated with the spread of COVID-19 are not consistent with the policy statement of the Commission as required by section 3582(c)(1)(A). See, e.g. , United States v. Raia , 954 F.3d 594, 597 (3d Cir. 2020) (explaining that "the mere existence of COVID-19 in society and the possibility that it may spread to a particular prison alone cannot independently justify compassionate release, especially considering BOP's statutory role, and its extensive and professional ......
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    • U.S. District Court — District of Oregon
    • 6 de abril de 2020
    ......For example, in United States v. Raia the government appealed the defendant's sentence. 954 F.3d 594, 596 (3d Cir. 2020). While the government's 452 F.Supp.3d 974 appeal was pending in the Third Circuit and before the defendant had exhausted his administrative remedies with the BOP, the defendant filed a motion with the district ......
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    ......In United States v. Raia , 954 F.3d 594, 597 (3d Cir. 2020), for instance, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit characterizes § 3582(c)(1)(A) ’s exhaustion requirement as "a glaring roadblock foreclosing compassionate release." 954 F.3d at 597. The Third Circuit does not state definitively whether it ......
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    ......In United States v. Raia , 954 F.3d 594, 597 (3d Cir. 2020), for instance, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit characterizes § 3582(c)(1)(A) ’s exhaustion requirement as "a glaring roadblock foreclosing compassionate release." United States v. Raia , 954 F.3d at 597. The Third Circuit does not ......
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