United States v. Louella Givens

Opinion

Case: 19-30722 Document: 00515224646 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/05/2019

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED No. 19-30722 December 5, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Clerk

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

LOUELLA GIVENS,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:16-CR-110-1

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, SOUTHWICK, and WILLETT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Louella Givens, federal prisoner # 34318-034, appeals the district court’s order denying her request that her time spent on postsentencing house arrest be credited against the 18-month prison term imposed for her conviction of health care fraud. Before the court is Givens’s motion for the appointment of counsel. In the interests of judicial economy, we dismiss the appeal as frivolous, as discussed below. See 5TH CIR. R. 42.2; United States v. Garcia- Gutierrez, 835 F.2d 585, 586 (5th Cir. 1988).

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Case: 19-30722 Document: 00515224646 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/05/2019

No. 19-30722

The district court had the authority to restrict Givens to house arrest during her postsentencing release on bond pending her surrender to the Bureau of Prisons. See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(c)(1)(B); 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a); Reno v. Koray, 515 U.S. 50, 57 (1995). Because her house arrest occurred during her release on bond before her surrender to the Bureau of Prisons, her time on house arrest was not “official detention” under 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b) and thus was not eligible to be credited against her 18-month prison sentence. See Koray, 515 U.S. at 56-65. Givens’s appeal is frivolous and entirely without merit. Accordingly, we DISPENSE with further briefing and DISMISS the appeal. See 5TH CIR. R. 42.2. Givens’s motion for the appointment of counsel is DENIED.