The plaintiffs filed a claim alleging violation of their Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights due to the prison's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The court found that the plaintiffs had standing and that it had jurisdiction over the habeas claims, and put aside the question of whether the plaintiffs had exhausted their administrative remedies prior to filing the lawsuit until defendants could provide evidence of plaintiffs' failure to exhaust. However, the court still ultimately decided to dismiss the plaintiffs' claims. First, the Eighth Amendment claim failed because the plaintiffs could not subjectively show that defendants acted with deliberate indifference to COVID-19, as the prison quarantined the general population, isolated COVID-19 positive inmates, closed the prison to visitors, and more. Second, the Fourteenth Amendment claim failed for the same reason.
None
DETAILS
Decision
Date
02/04/2021
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Improved Conditions, Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Louisiana
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pretrial Detention [jail]
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
3:20-cv-00278-BAJ-SDJ
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
M.D. La.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
State Prison
Name of Facility
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference, Procedural Due Process (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
All "current and future persons held at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic” (the “Jail Class”)
Three subclasses: (1) members of the Jail Class that have not yet been convicted of an offense (the “Pretrial Subclass”); (2) members of the Jail Class that have been convicted of an offense and are serving sentences (the “Post-Conviction Subclass”); and (3) members of the Jail Class older than 65 years or suffering from pre-existing medical conditions putting them at higher risk of serious illness or death due to COVID-19 (the “Medically Vulnerable Subclass”)
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Yes
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Yes
Litigation Database
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.