Opinion
Criminal 13-20582
12-29-2021
United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Duryane Lewis Chaney, Defendant.
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S REQUEST FOR COUNSEL
Sean F. Cox, United States District Court Judge
Acting pro se, on December 1, 2021, Defendant Duryane Lewis Chaney filed a secondMotion for Compassionate Release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), based upon concerns about the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. (ECF No. 79). In it, Defendant requests that this Court appoint counsel for Defendant, for purposes of assisting him with his Motion for Compassionate Release.
This Court denied Defendant's first motion seeking compassionate release in an Opinion and Order issued on June 22, 2021. (ECF No. 75).
The Sixth Amendment secures to a criminal defendant who faces incarceration the right to counsel at all “critical stages” of the criminal process. United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 224 (1967). The United States Supreme Court had held that a prisoner's post-conviction right to counsel extends only to the first appeal of right and no further. Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 555 (1987). Thus, the decision whether to appoint counsel for Defendant for purposes of filing a motion for compassionate release is a decision within the sound discretion of a district court. United States v. Stephens, 2020 WL 3250226 at *2 (E.D. Mich. June 16, 2020).
Motions for Compassionate Release are not complex, either legally or factually, and Defendant was able to draft and file a motion on his own. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Defendant's request for the appointment of counsel is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.