Case: 20-50804 Document: 00515962103 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/02/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 20-50804 August 2, 2021
Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Jeremiah Ybarra,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 4:16-CR-523-1
Before Jones, Duncan, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Jeremiah Ybarra, federal prisoner # 55024-280, moves for leave to
proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) in his appeal of the district court’s denial of
his motion for reconsideration of the denial of his emergency motion for
compassionate release, which the district court construed as arising under 18
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 20-50804 Document: 00515962103 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/02/2021
No. 20-50804
U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). The district court denied the motion to reconsider
on the merits after considering the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and the
Sentencing Commission’s applicable policy statements. He also moves this
court for leave to submit exhibits in support of his appellate brief and for
compassionate release.
By moving to proceed IFP in this court, Ybarra challenges the district
court’s certification decision. See Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202 (5th Cir.
1997). In determining whether a nonfrivolous issue exists, this court’s
inquiry “is limited to whether the appeal involves legal points arguable on
their merits (and therefore not frivolous).” Howard v. King, 707 F.2d 215,
220 (5th Cir. 1983) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). We may
dismiss the appeal if it is apparent that it would be frivolous. Baugh, 117 F.3d
at 202 n.24; see 5th Cir. R. 42.2.
Ybarra challenges his conviction and sentence, as well as the district
court’s denials of other unrelated motions. He also argues that he exhausted
his administrative remedies before filing his motion for compassionate
release. Additionally, he contends that there are extraordinary and
compelling reasons for his compassionate release because (1) the failure to
contain the COVID-19 pandemic in prison facilities presents a danger to his
health, and (2) his father is in need of his care. He notes that he successfully
completed his pretrial release in 2010 and did not have a history of flight from
or of eluding law enforcement.
Section 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), as amended by the First Step Act, states that
a district court may reduce a prisoner’s term of imprisonment upon motion
of either the director of the Bureau of Prisons or a prisoner, if, after
considering any relevant § 3553(a) factors, it finds that “extraordinary and
compelling reasons warrant such a reduction” and “a reduction is consistent
with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.”
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Case: 20-50804 Document: 00515962103 Page: 3 Date Filed: 08/02/2021
No. 20-50804
§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). Ybarra’s arguments do not demonstrate that the district
court abused its discretion in denying his motion to reconsider the denial of
his § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion. See United States v. Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691,
693-94 (5th Cir. 2020). Because Ybarra has failed to show that his appeal
involves a nonfrivolous issue, his IFP motion is DENIED, and this appeal is
DISMISSED. See Howard, 707 F.2d at 220; Baugh, 117 F.3d at 202 & n.24;
5th Cir. R. 42.2. All remaining outstanding motions are DENIED.
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