The court denied release to three individuals in immigration detention with asthma or diabetes on the grounds that the facility had adopted "rigorous screening, testing, and quarantine measures pursuant to CDC protocols." In particular, because widespread testing in the facility revealed only one positive case out of 450, the court held that the government was not deliberately indifferent and the conditions of detention were not punitive.
Castaneda Juarez v. Asher, No. C20-0700 (JLR), 2020 WL 3163208 (W.D. Wash. June 12, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
6/12/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Washington
Type of Case
Group
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
2:20-cv-0700-JLR
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
W.D. Wash.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention
Name of Facility
Tacoma Northwest Detention Center
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Legal Authority
§ 2241 Habeas
Convictions
Driving Under the Influence; Criminal Stalking; Violation of a No-Contact Order
Case Status
Decision Made
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Asthma, Diabetes, Other, Aortic Stenosis
Pre-Existing Health Conditions Notes
Chronic asthma, Moderate persistent asthma
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not discussed
Charges
Driving Under the Influence
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.