The court held that the pro se petitioner had improperly applied for a writ of habeas corpus under the state code of criminal procedure, which has no application in federal district court. As to the petitioner's § 1983 claims arising from Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment violations (specifically, failure to test individuals for COVID-19 before placing them in petitioner's "pod"), the court found no viable claim because neither the Harris County Jail nor the Harris County Sheriff's Office could be sued pursuant to FRCP 17(b). Finally, the court held that petitioner's claims were duplicative of an earlier lawsuit, and therefore dismissed as a "strike" pursuant to § 1915(e)(2)(B) as malicious.
Carter v. Harris Cty. Jail, No. CV H-20-1998, 2020 WL 3288124 (S.D. Tex. June 18, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
6/18/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Improved Conditions
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Texas
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison]
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
4:20-cv-01998
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
S.D. Tex.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Harris County Jail
Legal Authority
Section 1983
Legal Authority
Article 11.08/11.09 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
Convictions
Aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
Case Status
Decision Made
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Not Discussed
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.