Do you need a lawyer for compassionate release?

Court record: United States v. Smith, No. 1:13-cr-00629 (D. Md.) (filed as United States v. Glascoe).

You do not have to hire a lawyer to ask for compassionate release. But one Maryland case shows what can go wrong without one: the judge found extraordinary and compelling reasons, then still denied release because the prisoner never showed he was not a danger to the public.

Why families ask this question

We hear this question often at Criminal Center, a federal criminal defense firm that handles post-conviction work, including compassionate release motions. Many courts accept a compassionate release motion straight from the prisoner, written as a letter. So why pay a lawyer for something you could write yourself in 30 minutes?

It’s a fair question. Saving money matters, especially when you earn less than $1 an hour in federal prison.

But you’ve heard the phrase “you get what you pay for,” and that is especially true in federal court. The judge only knows what you put in front of the court. Comparing granted and denied cases shows a real difference between people who file alone and people who hire a lawyer who knows compassionate release.

The case of Michael Smith

Take the case of Michael Emmanuel Smith, decided on April 1, 2021. Mr. Smith was sentenced to 144 months in October 2014 on charges related to armed robbery.

On June 23, 2020, Mr. Smith sent a handwritten letter to the clerk of court. In part, it said, “I want to be clear this is not to be taken as a pro se motion [for Compassionate Release].” (“Pro se” means filed by the person himself, without a lawyer.)

The clerk filed the letter anyway, as a “Pro Se Motion for Compassionate Release.” That started Mr. Smith down the road to a denial.

Over the next several months, Mr. Smith went back and forth with the court. At one point, the court suggested that the federal defender’s office could take the case. It seems they decided not to, because Mr. Smith handled every later filing on his own against the federal government.

It isn’t unusual for a prisoner to believe he can beat the government alone, and sometimes it happens. But the odds are a lot like winning the Powerball: it could be you, but it probably won’t be. The United States government is enormously powerful, and a motion written with pen and paper from the commissary is up against all of it.

Mr. Smith seemed to understand that he needed a lawyer, but once his letter was mailed, it was already too late to stop the process. That was the moment to call a lawyer. Instead, he kept fighting alone and eventually filed a supplemental motion.

What was missing from his motion

At this point, his motion was in serious trouble. Not because he didn’t have a good case, but because he didn’t have the access and knowledge to argue it properly. The government knew this and opposed his request without much effort.

The problem is that “extraordinary and compelling” reasons are only part of the argument. A prisoner must also show he is not a danger to society. Mr. Smith never addressed that point in his handwritten letter, but any attorney would know it is a critical part of winning early release.

What the court decided

In April 2021, the court denied his compassionate release motion. In its opinion, the judge found that Mr. Smith had extraordinary and compelling reasons for release. But the judge also found that he was a danger to society.

That finding makes an appeal difficult. For the foreseeable future, it largely closes the door to compassionate release for Mr. Smith.

No one can know for sure how his case would have turned out with a lawyer. But it raises a fair question: is saving money worth the risk to your freedom?

If you want help with a compassionate release request, book a consultation.