Opinion
16-20031-10-JWL
11-07-2023
United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Rogelio Villanueva-Diaz, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM & ORDER
JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter is before the court on defendant's pro se motion for reduction of sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (doc. 509) in which defendant asks the court to reduce his sentence based on Amendment 821 to the United States Sentencing Guidelines. While the Amendment itself became effective on November 1, 2023, the retroactive provisions of that Amendment do not take effect until February 1, 2024.
The Honorable Eric F. Melgren of the District of Kansas recently appointed the Office of the Federal Public Defender to represent any defendant previously determined to have been entitled to appointment of counsel, or who is now indigent, to determine whether that defendant may qualify for relief under Amendment 821. The record reflects that defendant may be entitled to have the Federal Public Defender represent him to determine in the first instance whether he is eligible for relief under the amendment. In light of these circumstances, the court believes that the most efficient way to resolve the issue raised by defendant is to forward the motion (along with a copy of this order) to the Office of the Federal Public Defender for an initial determination of whether defendant qualifies for representation and is entitled to a reduction in his sentence in light of Amendment 821. In the meantime, the court will deny defendant's motion without prejudice to refiling the motion if the Office of the Public Defender declines to seek relief for defendant.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED BY THE COURT THAT defendant's motion for reduction of sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (doc. 509) is denied without prejudice to refiling on or after January 15, 2024.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED BY THE COURT THAT the Clerk of the Court shall forward to the Office of the Federal Public Defender a copy of this order along with a copy of defendant's pro se motion for reduction of sentence.
IT IS SO ORDERED.