United States v. George Fower

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 21-50007 Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. Nos. v. 8:19-cr-00163-JVS-1 8:19-cr-00163-JVS GEORGE FOWER, AKA Hisham Fehmi Faour, AKA George Tyler Fower, OPINION Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California James V. Selna, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted January 10, 2022 Pasadena, California

Filed April 4, 2022

Before: Johnnie B. Rawlinson and Consuelo Callahan, Circuit Judges, and Frederic Block, District Judge. *

Opinion By Judge Block

* The Honorable Frederic Block, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, sitting by designation. SUMMARY **

Criminal Law

Affirming the district court’s denial of a motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), the panel held, as a matter of first impression in this circuit, that compassionate relief is not available to defendants prior to incarceration.

COUNSEL

Daniel DeMaria (argued) and Aaron Spolin, Spolin Law PC, Los…