United States v. Lonnie Lillard

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUN 16 2022 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 21-30020

Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No.

2:16-cr-00007-RSM-1

v.

LONNIE EUGENE LILLARD, MEMORANDUM* Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Ricardo S. Martinez, Chief District Judge, Presiding

Submitted June 9, 2022**

Portland, Oregon

Before: SCHROEDER and SUNG, Circuit Judges, and ANTOON,*** District Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Lonnie Eugene Lillard appeals the district court’s denial of his second compassionate release motion pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §

*

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

**

The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

***

The Honorable John Antoon II, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, sitting by designation.

3582(c)(1)(A)(i). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Reviewing for abuse of discretion, United States v. Keller, 2 F.4th 1278, 1281 (9th Cir. 2021) (per curiam), we affirm.

The district court denied Lillard’s motion on the ground that the sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) did not warrant Lillard’s requested relief. The district court thus declined to consider whether Lillard’s motion set forth “extraordinary and compelling reasons” warranting his release. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i).

Lillard’s sole claim on appeal is that § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) required the district court to determine whether “extraordinary and compelling reasons” existed before denying his motion based on the § 3553(a) factors. That argument is now foreclosed. See Keller, 2 F.4th at 1284 (“As the government correctly argues, although a district court must perform this sequential inquiry before it grants compassionate release, a district court that properly denies compassionate release need not evaluate each step.”).

AFFIRMED.