Opinion
8:22-CR-56
05-16-2024
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. WESLY PREISTER, Defendant.
ORDER
BRIAN C. BUESCHER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter is before the Court on Wesly Preister's pro se Motion for Appointment of Counsel for the purposes of assisting him in seeking compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Filing 42. In this submission, Preister does not provide any information on why he intends to seek compassionate release or the grounds he intends to rely upon in doing so. See generally Filing 42. The Court will deny his Motion. “[A] defendant's constitutional and statutory rights to assistance of counsel does not extend to postconviction proceedings beyond a direct appeal, including postconviction proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c).” United States v. Washington, No. 6:02-CR-03110-MDH, 2022 WL 17637631, at *1 (W.D. Mo. Dec. 13, 2022) (citing cases); cf. United States v. Meeks, 971 F.3d 830, 833 (8th Cir. 2020) (“[T]here is no Sixth Amendment right to counsel in sentence modification proceedings under § 3582(c)”) (quotation marks and citation omitted). Moreover, the Court notes that federal courts generally do not appoint counsel just because an individual wishes to pursue compassionate release. See e.g., United States v. Cannon, No. 3:17-CR-00208, 2022 WL 1748316, at *2 (D.N.D. May 31, 2022) (“Further, the appointment of counsel for a motion to reduce sentence is not required by the Constitution or statute; thus the Court declines to appoint counsel for [the defendant]”), aff'd, No. 22-2315, 2022 WL 17849927 (8th Cir. June 24, 2022), reh'g denied (Aug. 5, 2022). Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED: Preister's Motion for Appointment of Counsel, Filing 42, is denied.