The court dismissed Henry Lee Givens’s pro se money damages claim for mental anguish arising from the allegedly inadequate precautions taken to protect persons incarcerated at Gregg County Jail from the COVID-19 pandemic. The magistrate judge presiding over the case issued a recommendation that the case be dismissed for failure to state a claim, because an incarcerated person could not bring a civil action for mental or emotional injury that he suffered while in jail unless he also shows physical injury (Dkt. No. 5). The district judge reviewed the magistrate judge's report and recommendation for clear error instead of de novo, reasoning that Givens had failed to pinpoint those portions of the magistrate's report that the court must specially consider, as would be required for de novo review. The court concluded that the magistrate judge's report and recommendation was not clearly erroneous, and thus the case was dismissed without prejudice as frivolous and for failure to state a claim.
Givens v. Cerliano, No. 6:20-CV-00164, 2020 WL 3268886 (E.D. Tex. June 17, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
6/17/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Monetary Relief
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Texas
Type of Case
Individual
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
6:20-cv-00164-CB
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
E.D. Tex.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Gregg County Jail
Case Status
Decision Made
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not discussed
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.