United States v. James Rudzavice ( 2020 )

Case: 20-10536 Document: 00515679678 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/18/2020
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 20-10536 December 18, 2020
Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
James L. Rudzavice,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:07-CR-138-1
USDC No. 4:20-CV-505
Before Wiener, Southwick, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
James Rudzavice was convicted of child pornography offenses and
sentenced to 360 months in prison. United States v. Rudzavice, 586 F.3d 310,
312-13 (5th Cir. 2009). He appeals from the district court’s denial of a motion
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 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opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited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 Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 20-10536 Document: 00515679678 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/18/2020
No. 20-10536
for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), in which he
argued that the threat of COVID-19 in prison constituted extraordinary and
compelling reasons for release. He asserts on appeal that he has already
contracted COVID-19 once and fears reinfection. He also asserts that the
district court was biased, and he seeks a remand for reconsideration by a
different judge.
We need not decide whether the risk of reinfection constitutes an
extraordinary and compelling reason for compassionate release because the
district court did not abuse its discretion by concluding that Rudzavice
remained a danger to the safety of others and that his immediate release after
serving less than half of his sentence would not be in the interest of justice
and would minimize the seriousness of his crimes. See United States v.
Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 692-93 (5th Cir. 2020).
The judgment is AFFIRMED. Rudzavice’s motion for appointment
of counsel and all of his other requests for relief are DENIED.
2