United States v. Taylor, 8:10-cr-00201

Defendant Kathleen Fischer moved for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) as amended by the First Step Act.
The motion did not show that Fischer exhausted administrative remedies with the Bureau of Prisons or include documentation that 30 days had elapsed after a warden request.
Section 3582(c)(1)(A) requires either full administrative exhaustion or the lapse of 30 days from the warden's receipt of a request before a court may act.
The court concluded the exhaustion requirement is statutory and jurisdictional and therefore may not be waived despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The court stayed Fischer’s compassionate-release motion for 60 days for her to file proof of exhaustion; failure to do so will result in dismissal.
The Federal Public Defender’s Office was appointed to oversee the case during the stay.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the court can consider a compassionate-release motion absent § 3582(c)(1)(A) exhaustion	The United States: the statute’s exhaustion requirement is jurisdictional and must be enforced	Fischer: sought compassionate release (invoking COVID-19 risk) but did not show exhaustion or lapse of 30 days	Court: exhaustion is required; lacking proof, court cannot decide the motion now; stayed case 60 days for proof
Appropriate immediate relief when exhaustion not shown	United States: court lacks power to waive statutory exhaustion	Fischer: implicitly urged relief despite no exhaustion shown	Court: will stay 60 days and appoint counsel; will deny motion if exhaustion not shown within that period

Malouf v. SEC, 933 F.3d 1248 (10th Cir. 2019) (courts lack discretion to excuse failure to satisfy statutory exhaustion requirements)