United States v. Mertens

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: January 2, 2026
• Docket: 25-2316
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JAN 2 2026 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 25-2316 D.C. No. Plaintiff - Appellee, 2:03-cr-00073-DCN-1 v. MEMORANDUM* ROBERT LEON MERTENS, AKA BJ Mertens,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Idaho David C. Nye, District Judge, Presiding

Submitted December 17, 2025**

Before: PAEZ, CHRISTEN, and KOH, Circuit Judges.

Robert Leon Mertens appeals pro se from the district court’s order denying

his motion for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). We

dismiss the appeal as moot.

* 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). During the pendency of this appeal, Mertens was released from prison. We

agree with the government that Mertens’s release renders this appeal moot. See

United States v. Yepez, 108 F.4th 1093, 1100 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 145 S. Ct. 459

(2024). Contrary to Mertens’s argument, the fact that he is still subject to other

conditions of his sentence, including a term of supervised release, does not save his

appeal from being moot. See id. at 1100-01. The compassionate release statute

permits a district court to reduce “the term of imprisonment.” 18 U.S.C.

§ 3582(c)(1)(A). Because that form of relief is no longer available, this appeal is

moot. See Yepez, 108 F.4th at 1100-01.

DISMISSED.

2 25-2316