Cadwalader partner Anne Tompkins and associate Chad Lee secured their quickest compassionate release victory to date for a woman who had been sexually assaulted by the warden overseeing the facility where she was being held. The warden is now in prison after being convicted late last year of sexually assaulting multiple inmates.

One of the ways a prisoner can win compassionate release is when the Bureau of Prisons (as opposed to the prisoner themselves) submits a motion for relief. When our team took the case, our client had already petitioned the Bureau of Prisons to file such a motion. However, the administrative process seemed to have stalled until Anne contacted the General Counsel of the Bureau of Prisons, introduced us as pro bono counsel, and asked about the status of our client’s petition and what we could do to advance her petition for release. After that, things moved quickly. Within a few days, the U.S. Attorney’s office filed a motion for our client’s release, the judge granted the motion, and our client was released—more than three years earlier than her original sentence.

Kudos to Anne and Chad on this important achievement.