Cummings v. Washington (W.D. Mich.) - Complaint Dismissed for Failure to State a Claim
The court dismissed Petitioner Cummings's complaint for failure to state a claim and denied a preliminary injunction. Petitioner sued under § 1983 due to alleged violations of his 8th Amendment and 5th and 14th Substantive Due Process rights. The 8th Amendment claims failed, as "on light of the nonexistent levels of infection at URF and the significant measures undertaken by Defendants to secure prisoner safety and prevent infection, Plaintiff cannot show that Defendants have been deliberately indifferent to his serious risk of physical harm." Substantive due process was pre-empted by the 8th Amendment, which provides an explicit textual source of constitutional protection against a particular sort of government behavior. Petitioner's request for a preliminary injunction failed in part because of his failure to show he would succeed on the merits of any of his claims.
Cummings v. Washington, No. 2:20-cv-65 (PLM), 2020 WL 2764364 (W.D. Mich. May 28, 2020).
DETAILS
Decision
Date
05/28/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Preliminary Injunction (PI), Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Michigan
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
2:20-cv-00065-PLM-MV
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
W.D. Mich.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
State Prison
Name of Facility
Chippewa Correctional Facility (URF)
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference, Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Legal Authority
Other, Section 1983, Prison Litigation Reform Act
Case Status
Decision Made
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
No
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.