USCA11 Case: 20-13911 Date Filed: 05/24/2021 Page: 1 of 5
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 20-13911
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 3:14-cr-00056-HLA-MCR-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
ASHLEY CHASE LEE,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
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(May 24, 2021)
Before MARTIN, JORDAN, and BRANCH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Ashley Lee, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s
denial of his motion for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
§ 3582(c)(1)(A). After careful consideration, we affirm.
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I
In 2014, Lee pled guilty to a drug-related offense and was sentenced to 120
months’ imprisonment and 60 months’ supervised release. In 2020, Lee filed this
motion for compassionate release pursuant to section 3582(c)(1)(A). He argued
that extraordinary and compelling circumstances warranted a sentence reduction
because the Bureau of Prisons was not prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and
because his mother had poor kidney health. He also said a sentence reduction was
consistent with the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors.
The district court denied Lee’s motion. The district court found it was not
authorized to “invent new or additional ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ for
compassionate release.” This being the case, it found that Lee’s concerns about
COVID-19 did not fall within the extraordinary and compelling reasons expressly
enumerated in United States Sentencing Guideline § 1B1.13. And while noting
that certain “family circumstances” can qualify as “extraordinary and compelling
reasons” warranting compassionate release, the district court found that Lee’s
mother’s poor kidney health was not expressly enumerated in the Guideline. Lee
timely filed this appeal.
II
Lee argues here that the district court erred in finding it was only permitted
to consider the extraordinary and compelling reasons expressly enumerated in
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section 1B1.13. He says the court could “determine on its own what counts as
‘extraordinary and compelling reasons.’” He also argues, for the first time on
appeal, that the district court abused its discretion in not appointing counsel to
represent him. Because Lee is proceeding pro se, we construe his filings liberally.
Jones v. Fla. Parole Comm’n, 787 F.3d 1105, 1107 (11th Cir. 2015).
A
We begin with Lee’s argument that the district court erred in finding it was
only permitted to consider the extraordinary and compelling reasons expressly
enumerated in section 1B1.13. We review de novo whether a district court was
authorized to modify a term of imprisonment. United States v. Jones, 962 F.3d
1290, 1296 (11th Cir. 2020). We review the denial of a motion for compassionate
release under section 3582(c)(1)(A) for abuse of discretion. United States v.
Harris, 989 F.3d 908, 911 (11th Cir. 2021).
Lee’s argument is now foreclosed by our precedent. See United States v.
Bryant, ___ F.3d ___, No. 19-14267, 2021 WL 1827158, at *1–2 (11th Cir. May 7,
2021). In Bryant, a panel of this Court held that “extraordinary and compelling
reasons” are limited to those listed in section 1B1.13. Id. at *1. Section 1B1.13
lists four extraordinary and compelling reasons: the medical condition of the
defendant, the age of the defendant, family circumstances, and “[o]ther reasons” as
determined by the Bureau of Prisons. USSG § 1B1.13 cmt. n.1. The Bryant panel
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also held that “other reasons” are limited to those determined by the Bureau of
Prisons, not by courts. See Bryant, 2021 WL 1827158, at *1–2. The district court
therefore did not err in finding it was only permitted to consider the extraordinary
and compelling reasons expressly enumerated in section 1B1.13. Lee does not
argue that one of the extraordinary and compelling reasons listed in section 1B1.13
or that one of the “other reasons” determined by the Bureau of Prisons applies in
this case. We therefore cannot say the district court abused its discretion in
denying his motion for compassionate release.
B
Lee’s other argument is that the district court abused its discretion in not
appointing counsel to represent him. He says his access to the law library is
limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He therefore says his constitutional right
to access the courts was limited by the district court’s failure to appoint him
counsel. We ordinarily review a district court’s decision not to appoint counsel for
abuse of discretion. United States v. Webb, 565 F.3d 789, 793 (11th Cir. 2009)
(per curiam). However, issues not raised in the district court are reviewed only for
plain error. United States v. Hano, 922 F.3d 1272, 1283 (11th Cir. 2019). Under
plain error review, a party must demonstrate (1) an error occurred, (2) the error
was plain, (3) the error affected the party’s substantial rights, and (4) the error
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seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial
proceedings. Id.
Lee has failed to show that the district court erred by failing to sua sponte
appoint counsel to represent him. As an initial matter, no binding precedent
requires a district court to appoint counsel in a section 3582(c)(1) proceeding.
Without “precedent from the Supreme Court or this Court directly resolv[ing]” this
issue, we cannot say the district court plainly erred. See United States v. Innocent,
977 F.3d 1077, 1081 (11th Cir. 2020) (quotation marks omitted). Certainly this
Court has noted that “there may be instances in which equitable concerns would
make the appointment of counsel appropriate to ensure a just outcome” in a
proceeding under section 3582(c)(2). Webb, 565 F.3d at 795 n.4. But even
assuming Webb applied to a section 3582(c)(1) proceeding, Lee has not shown the
district court erred, as he has not identified any equitable concerns in his case. Lee
has a good understanding of the facts of his own case. And while his access to the
law library is limited during the COVID-19 pandemic, his motion for
compassionate release and his briefs in this Court demonstrate he has a good
command of the legal issues presented in his case.
AFFIRMED.
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