California Cases March 22, 2022: United States v. Medrano

Case Description

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CAROL ANN MOSES #164193 Attorney at LawAttorney for Defendant,

UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR EARLY TERMINATION OF SUPERVISED RELEASE; AND ORDER THEREON

Honorable Dale A. Drozd, Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant, VICENTA MEDRANO, hereby moves the Court for early termination of her supervised release. The 5-year term of supervised release began on August 4, 2017, and terminates August 4, 2022. Ms. Medrano has already completed approximately 90% of her supervisory term.

Ms. Medrano's father is unable to care for himself on the family ranch outside of Mexicali. Ms. Medrano's request for early termination is so she may travel to Mexicali and assist her father. She will continue to reside in the United States.

Ms. Medrano is being supervised in the Eastern District of California where she lives and works. Prior to filing this petition, defense counsel spoke to the U.S. Probation Officer Lonnie Stockman who is handling the case while Ms. Medrano's regular U.S. Probation Officer, Daniel

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Alejandro, is away at training. United States Probation Officer Stockman indicates that Ms. Medrano is in full compliance in all areas of supervision, including drug testing, drug treatment and employment requirements, but opposes an early termination of probation. Instead, she proposes reoccurring travel authorization to Mexico for Ms. Medrano.

Ms. Medrano requests early termination of Supervised Release so that she may travel to Mexico to help care for her father, who is currently struggling with the ability to adequately care for himself. Ms. Medrano's plan is to go to Mexico to sell the family ranch and then use the proceeds to purchase a house close to town (Mexicali) for her father to live. This will provide him the ability to receive needed services that are not currently available to him where he lives now. Ms. Medrano's father is fragile with no one to care for him. He lacks basic life necessities and is unable to procure them for himself in his current living situation. There are no other relatives who are able to help out with his care.

Assistant United States Attorney Jeffery Spivak does not oppose the motion for early termination of Supervised Release as long as the United States Probation Office's position is clearly stated: “Probation objects to early termination given the quantity of drugs in the instant offense, the defendant's prior criminal history, and defendant's prior failures to appear. Probation would prefer defendant instead be permitted intermittent travel to Mexico.”

United States Probation Officer Stockman suggests that instead of an early termination of probation, the Court, with notification to the Probation Office, authorize Ms. Medrano's reoccurring travel to Mexicali for the purpose of providing assistance to her father, each visit to last no longer than three weeks.

Ms. Medrano's period of Supervised Release is scheduled to terminate August 4, 2022.

A proposed order is attached for the Court's convenience.

II. APPLICABLE LAW

Title 18, section 3583(e)(1) of the United States Code authorizes the Court to terminate a defendant's term of supervised release at any time after the expiration of one year of supervision if the Court is “satisfied that such action is warranted by the conduct of the defendant released and the interest of justice.”

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Officers should consider the suitability of early termination for offenders as soon as they are statutorily eligible. The general criteria for assessing whether a statutorily eligible offender should be recommended to the court as an appropriate candidate for early termination are as follows:

1. Stable community reintegration (e.g. residence, family, employment);

2. Progressive strides toward supervision objectives and in compliance with all conditions of supervision;

3. No aggravated role in the offense of conviction, particularly large drug or fraud offenses;

4. No history of violence (e.g., sexually assaultive, predatory behavior, or domestic violence);

5. No recent arrests or convictions (including unresolved pending charges), or ongoing, uninterrupted patterns of criminal conduct;

6. No recent evidence of alcohol or drug abuse;

7. No recent psychiatric episodes;

8. No identifiable risk to the safety of any identifiable victim; and

9. No identifiable risk to public safety based on the Risk Prediction Index (RPI).

Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 8E, Ch. 3§ 380.10(b), “Early Termination” (Monograph 109) (rev'd 2010) (emphasis added).

Ms. Medrano meets the above criteria for eligibility for early termination of Supervised Release.

III.MS. MEDRANO SATISFIES THE CRITERIA FOR EARLY TERMINATION

Ms. Medrano satisfies the criteria for early termination of Supervised Release. Ms. Medrano pled guilty to three counts of a three-count Indictment wherein she imported cocaine, hashish and marijuana in violation of Title 21 United States Code Sections 952 and 960. She went to prison, actively participated and successfully completed RDAP and has successfully reintegrated into society as a law abiding citizen and responsible member of society.

Ms. Medrano has been drug/alcohol free for over a decade, maintains a stable residence

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and is gainfully employed with a job she loves. Her life is going well with the exception of her father's health in Mexico. Allowing her early termination of Supervised Release will facilitate competent care for her very fragile and deteriorating father in Mexico by spending the much-needed time selling the family ranch and buying him a home in town where much needed services will be available to him.

IV. CONCLUSION

Given Ms. Medrano's commendable reentry into the community and performance on supervised release, Ms. Medrano is an excellent and eligible candidate for early termination of Supervised Release and, as such, she respectfully requests the Court order her term of supervision be terminated early.

ORDER

GOOD CAUSE APPEARING , the above request in case number 1:19-cr-00066-DAD by Defendant Vicenta Medrano for early termination of Supervised Release, is hereby granted and the term of supervised release imposed in this case is hereby terminated.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Notes:

The undersigned has consulted with the supervising probation officer regarding the pending request and wishes to make clear that it has determined that probation has very well-grounded reasons for recommending an accommodation short of early termination. Those legitimate reasons include, among other considerations, the seriousness of defendant's offense of conviction including the fact that it involved the importation of a large amount of drugs to this country from Mexico, as well as defendant's less than perfect performance on previous terms of supervision. Nonetheless, in light of defendant's performance to date on this term of supervision, the compelling family circumstances in Mexico involved and the fact that the defendant has only 4 ½ months remaining on her current term of supervised release, the court will nonetheless exercise its discretion to grant early termination.

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