United States v. Kathy Funtila ( 2022 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUL 19 2022
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 20-10441
Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 1:17-cr-00515-LEK-1
v.
KATHY FUNTILA, AKA Kathy Retter, MEMORANDUM*
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Hawaii
Leslie E. Kobayashi, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted July 12, 2022**
Before: SCHROEDER, R. NELSON, and VANDYKE, Circuit Judges.
Kathy Funtila appeals pro se from the district court’s order denying her
second motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). We
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we vacate and remand.
With respect to Funtila’s first motion for compassionate release, the district
*
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).
court concluded that (1) Funtila had failed to exhaust her administrative remedies,
but that her failure to exhaust was excused because exhaustion would have been
futile, and (2) Funtila had not shown extraordinary and compelling reasons for
compassionate release under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13. The court denied Funtila’s
second compassionate release motion, which it described as “almost identical to
her first motion,” because she had again failed to provide any extraordinary and
compelling reasons.
After the district court issued its orders, we decided United States v. Keller,
2 F.4th 1278 (9th Cir. 2021) and United States v. Aruda, 993 F.3d 799 (9th Cir.
2021). Because the district court did not have the benefit of these decisions when
it reviewed Funtila’s motions, we vacate the district court’s orders and remand for
the district court to reassess Funtila’s motion under the standards set forth in those
opinions.
We offer no view of the merits of Funtila’s request for compassionate
release.
VACATED and REMANDED.
2 20-10441