United States v. Garrett

JOSEPH R. GOODWIN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JOSEPH R. GOODWIN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Pending before the court is the defendant's letter-form motion [ECF No. 105] for appointment of counsel to seek a reduced sentence under the First Step Act. In February 2000, Defendant was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment followed by four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to violating 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). [ECF No. 33]. On November 6, 2000, the court amended and reduced the defendant's sentence to a term of imprisonment of 48 months followed by a three-year term of supervised release. [ECF No. 39]. The court then revoked the defendant's supervised release in October 2004 and again in August 2005 due to the defendant's repeated non-compliance with the terms of his supervised release. [ECF Nos. 57, 78]. On March 6, 2007, Defendant's supervised release was revoked for a final time, and he was committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons for a term of 6 months. [ECF No. 99]. Defendant completed his sentence and was ultimately released from custody in late 2007.

Now, nearly 16 years later, Defendant moves for the appointment of counsel to seek a reduced sentence under the First Step Act. A case is moot when the issues presented are no longer live and the parties lack a cognizable interest in the outcome. Simmons v. United Mortg. & Loan Inv., LLC, 634 F.3d 754, 763 (4th Cir. 2011). Defendant is no longer serving a sentence related to this case and cannot obtain counsel to reduce a sentence that has already been served. However, Defendant is currently serving a sentence related to another action, United States of America v. Marvin Garrett, Criminal Action No. 2:12-00030, that is not before this court.

Defendant's Motion is moot, as the instant action is no longer live, and the Motion appears to have been filed in the wrong case.

For those reasons, Defendant's Motion for Appointment of Counsel [ECF No. 105] is DENIED as moot.

The court DIRECTS the Clerk to send a copy of this Order to the Federal Public Defender, the United States Attorney, the United States Probation Office, and the United States Marshal.