Case: 21-40115 Document: 00515984523 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/18/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
August 18, 2021
No. 21-40115 Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Rene Olivarez,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 2:12-CR-391-2
Before Smith, Stewart, and Graves, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Rene Olivarez, federal prisoner # 15060-379, pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of
cocaine. The district court sentenced him to 188 months of imprisonment
and five years of supervised release. He now appeals the district court’s
*
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opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited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: 21-40115 Document: 00515984523 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/18/2021
No. 21-40115
denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion for compassionate release,
contending that the district court failed to address or acknowledge his
evidence that his latent Hepatitis C infection creates a risk of severe illness
due to COVID-19 and constitutes an extraordinary and compelling reason for
compassionate release. He further argues that his efforts at rehabilitation
while in prison warranted early release under the sentencing factors of 18
U.S.C. § 3553(a).
Section 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) allows a district court to modify a
defendant’s sentence 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.” § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). We review the district
court’s denial of such a motion for abuse of discretion, giving deference to
the district court’s application of the § 3553(a) sentencing factors. United
States v. Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th Cir. 2020).
Olivarez has not shown that the district court clearly erred when it
determined that Olivarez’s medical condition was not an extraordinary and
compelling circumstance warranting a reduction in sentence and that, even if
Olivarez’s medical conditions constituted an extraordinary and compelling
circumstance, a sentence reduction was nevertheless unwarranted based on
a balancing of the § 3553(a) factors. The district court considered the
arguments advanced by Olivarez and nevertheless found that Olivarez’s
criminal history weighed against an early release. Olivarez’s disagreement
with how the district court balanced the § 3553(a) factors is insufficient to
establish an abuse of discretion and “is not a sufficient ground for reversal.”
Chambliss, 948 F.3d at 694.
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
2