Court filing
Motion for Miscellaneous Relief, specifically for a 90 day extension — USA v. Bruey et al. (Dkt. 143, M.D. Fla.)
Filed March 14, 2023 in USA v. Bruey et al.; one of 73 filings from this case.
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2023-03-14 |
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida · No. 2:21-cr-00074 · Doc. 143 · 2023-03-14 · Docket on CourtListener
Full text
1
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
Case No. 2:21-cr-74-TPB-KCD
AMBER REWIS BRUEY
____________________________________/
MOTION FOR A 90-DAY EXTENSION OF AMBER
REWIS BRUEY’S APRIL 1, 2023, REPORT DATE
COMES NOW, the defendant, Amber Rewis Bruey, by and through
undersigned appellate counsel. Due to changes in her circumstances, Ms.
Bruey hereby moves this Honorable Court for an order to continue her April 1,
2023, report date for 90 days to June 30, 2023. In support thereof, Ms. Bruey
states:
1.
Ms. Bruey pleaded guilty to Counts One through Eleven, and
Fourteen to Eighteen, of an indictment charging her with various fraud
offenses. Docs. 109, 132.
2.
On July 13, 2022, this Honorable Court sentenced Ms. Bruey to
48 months’ imprisonment in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Doc. 134 at 18.
3.
At the time of her sentence, as the Court is aware, Ms. Bruey was
pregnant and due to deliver her baby in mid-February 2023. Doc. 143 at 18. In
imposing its sentence, this Court kindly permitted Ms. Bruey to remain
Case 2:21-cr-00074-TPB-K_D Document 143 Filed 03/14/23 Page 1 of 8 PageID 1068
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released, with conditions, post-judgment, to accommodate her pregnancy and
allow her an opportunity to spend time with her newborn after the birth. Id.
4.
At sentencing, this Court stated “[i]f it turns out something goes
wrong with that pregnancy, which God forbid, I’m not hoping for that, but if
something does, we’ll need to know about that, and her turn-in date needs to
be reevaluated.” Id. Unfortunately, Ms. Bruey’s pregnancy was far more
complicated than anticipated.
5.
Ms. Bruey’s pregnancy was plagued with substantial health
problems, including preeclampsia with severe features of pulmonary edema
and
orthopnea.
See
Pulmonary
edema,
Mayo
Clinic,
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pulmonary-edema/ symptoms-
causes/syc-20377009 (last visited March 14, 2023) (“Pulmonary edema is a
condition caused by too much fluid in the lungs. This flued collects in the many
air sacs in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.”); see also What Is
Orthopnea?, WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/lung/lung-what-is-orthopnea
(last visited March 14, 2023) (“Orthopnea means you find it harder to breathe
when you lie down because of fluid in your lungs . . . . Orthopnea usually
happens because your heart isn’t strong enough to pump out all the blood sent
from your lungs. This is called heart failure.”); Preeclampsia Foundation,
https://www.preeclampsia.org/, (last visited Mar. 14, 2023) (Preeclampsia is a
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serious, life-threatening hypertensive disorder that occurs during pregnancy
and the postpartum period, more often characterized by a rapid rise in blood
pressure that can lead to seizure, stroke, multiple organ failure, and even the
death of the mother and/or baby).
6.
Due to her health problems, including hypertension, Ms. Bruey
was on bedrest for the last month of her pregnancy. She was induced early and
prematurely gave birth to her child on January 21, 2023 (at 35 weeks) because
of preeclampsia “with severe features.”
7.
Following the birth of her youngest child, Ms. Bruey had to be
readmitted at the hospital for worsening shortness of breath. Ms. Bruey has
since continued to have medical issues that have arisen due to her heart and
chronic persistent asthma.
8.
Ms. Bruey’s premature baby has also had continuous medical
evaluations, especially for issues related to her heart. Most recently, she had a
cardiac appointment for a patent foramen ovale. See Patent foramen ovale,
Mayo Clinic, https:// www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions /patent-foramen-
ovale/symptoms-causes/syc-20353487 (last visited Mar. 14, 2023) (“A patent
foramen ovale (PFO) is a hole in the heart that didn't close the way it should
after birth.” While a PFO may not cause complications itself, people with a
Case 2:21-cr-00074-TPB-K_D Document 143 Filed 03/14/23 Page 3 of 8 PageID 1070
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PFO may have other heart defects, including low blood oxygen or the
possibility of an ischemic stroke).
9.
In addition to Ms. Bruey’s own health problems, and those related
to the premature birth of her youngest child, two of her sons have recently
undergone testing for Autism Spectrum Disorder after Ms. Bruey was
sentenced in this case.
10.
A psychological evaluation from Kathleen Roszyk (MSc) and
William La Valle (Psy.D), indicate Ms. Bruey’s second youngest child has been
diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, scoring in the Severe Symptoms of
Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Second
Edition (CARS2). In addition to outlining his difficulty with socialization,
speech and communication, sensory behaviors, and weight, the psychological
evaluation outlined 20 pages of guidelines and strategies that would improve
Ms. Bruey’s son’s behaviors at home and at school. Ms. Bruey needs additional
time to put those strategies into place and get her son used to the new structure
and schedule.
11.
The evaluation also revealed that Ms. Bruey’s son “is at his best
when no one else is around besides Ms. Bruey.” The report indicates that “Ms.
Bruey must be the person to give [name redacted] his food and drink;
otherwise, [h]e will have a meltdown and not eat.” Given her son’s strong
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attachment to her, Ms. Bruey needs additional time to acquaint her son to the
caretaker who will be fostering the children while she is in prison.
12.
Given the circumstances that have changed since Ms. Bruey’s
sentencing, undersigned counsel respectfully requests this Court continue Ms.
Bruey’s current report date of April 1, 2023, by 90 days to June 30, 2023.
13.
This request is made for numerous reasons. First, it allows Ms.
Bruey the opportunity to continue to attend medical appointments for herself
following the premature birth of her child, which would be severely disrupted
if she were to report to the BOP on her current report date in April 2023. Ms.
Bruey’s physicians have discussed the importance of close postpartum
surveillance and the resources she needs, including appointments with
cardiology, neurology, and psychiatry that extend close to her current
surrender date. See Labor and delivery, postpartum care, Mayo Clinic,
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/post
partum-complications/art-0446702#:~:text=Common%20post
partum%20complications&text=Cardiovascular%20diseases,bleeding%20afte
r%20giving%20birth%20(hemorrhage) (last visited March 14, 2023) (outlining
complications after childbirth, including the greater risk of dying for those with
chronic conditions like cardiac disease and high blood pressure).
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14.
Further, this request allows Ms. Bruey—the sole caretaker of her
five minor children—to continue to care for the children until the beginning of
the summer. With the autism diagnosis for one of her sons, and the autism
testing of another, this three-month period would allow Ms. Bruey to complete
the testing and establish the groundwork for the support her children need to
develop with new therapies and routines. It would also allow Ms. Bruey to
continue to attend to her youngest child’s medical appointments after the
premature birth.
15.
Counsel spoke with Ms. Bruey’s Probation Officer, Stephen
Larson. Officer Larson has been supervising Ms. Bruey since May 2022.1
Officer Larson was aware of Ms. Bruey’s health problems and stated that Ms.
Bruey has been diligently contacting him every Friday since the supervision
began, even while she was hospitalized. Officer Larson indicated that he last
saw Ms. Bruey on an unannounced visit on February 10, 2023. He stated that
Ms. Bruey was at the home, with all of her children, as required by the
conditions of her release. Though Officer Larson gave no formal opinion
regarding an extension to Ms. Bruey’s surrender date, he stated he had no
reason to believe Ms. Bruey would have issues with the continued compliance
of her release requirements.
1
Undersigned counsel called Officer Larson on March 9, 2023.
Case 2:21-cr-00074-TPB-K_D Document 143 Filed 03/14/23 Page 6 of 8 PageID 1073
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16.
Counsel contacted AUSA Trenton Reichling who advised that he
spoke with his supervisor and opposed the 90-day extension.
17.
Ms. Bruey has not yet received her BOP designation.
18.
This Court has broad discretion to grant an extension of a
defendant’s report date for service of sentence. Good cause has been shown
here to support such a continuance.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, Ms. Bruey respectfully requests that this
Honorable Court extend her surrender date by 90 days, from April 1, 2023 to
June 30, 2023.
Respectfully submitted,
A. Fitzgerald Hall, Esq.
Federal Defender, MDFL
/s/ Shehnoor Kaur Grewal
Shehnoor Kaur Grewal
Research and Writing Attorney
Utah Bar Number 14662
2075 W. First Street, Suite 300
Fort Myers, Florida 33908
Telephone: (239) 334-0397
E-mail: shehnoor_grewal@fd.org
Appellate Counsel for Ms. Bruey
Case 2:21-cr-00074-TPB-K_D Document 143 Filed 03/14/23 Page 7 of 8 PageID 1074
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that undersigned electronically filed the foregoing
with the Clerk of Court (CM/ECF) by using the CM/ECF system which will
send a notice of electronic filing to Trenton Reichling, Assistant United States
Attorney, this 14th day of March 2023.
/s/ Shehnoor Kaur Grewal
Shehnoor Kaur Grewal
Case 2:21-cr-00074-TPB-K_D Document 143 Filed 03/14/23 Page 8 of 8 PageID 1075File and source
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