USA v. Dean

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH, CENTRAL DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff, 	MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
APPOINT COUNSEL
v.
Case No. 2:19-cr-00018-TC
Judge Tena Campbell
JOHN DEAN,
Defendant.
Before the court is a letter from Defendant John Dean. (ECF No. 48.) The court
construes that letter as a motion to appoint counsel, as Mr. Dean requests that the court appoint
him an attorney “to represent me and assist me in filing a motion … for Compassionate
Release ….” (Id.) The court does not generally appoint counsel to assist a prisoner in preparing
such a motion, but the court will alert the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the District of
Utah when the court receives a pro se motion. See Gen. Order 22-022 (Dec. 13, 2022).
After receiving a motion for compassionate release, the court first screens that motion to
determine whether the requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) have been met, including
whether the “defendant has fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the
Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the defendant’s behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the
receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant’s facility, whichever is earlier ….” One
reason why administrative exhaustion is important is that it gives the Bureau of Prisons an
opportunity to address the medical issues that Mr. Dean raises, such as his arthritis medication
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and other health problems. The court notes that it may only consider compassionate release for
“extraordinary and compelling reasons” and that medical circumstances must be extremely
serious before the court will find that they rise to this level. See USSG § 1B1.13(b)(1) (setting
forth guidelines for medical circumstances that may rise to extraordinary and compelling reasons
for release, including terminal illness, serious conditions from which a defendant is not expected
to recover and which prevent a defendant from providing self-care, and medical conditions that
require long term or specialized care).
Because Mr. Dean’s letter does not present medical circumstances that appear to rise to
the level of extraordinary and compelling reasons, the court declines to appoint counsel. In
addition, the court is unable to consider a motion for compassionate release on the merits until
Mr. Dean has first exhausted his administrative remedies.
ORDER
For the foregoing reasons, Mr. Dean’s motion to appoint counsel (ECF No. 48) is
DENIED.
DATED this 2nd day of February, 2026.
BY THE COURT:
___________________________
Tena Campbell
United States District Judge
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