Johnson filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, seeking immediate release to home confinement under the CARES Act and asking the court to hold "Warden Williams in contempt for failing to obey Judge Gwin’s Order." Johnson contended that FCI Elkton "ha[d] a large number of inmates with confirmed cases of COVID-19" and that "although the Bureau of Prisons ha[d] the authority to release prisoners under the CARES Act, and ha[d] been ordered to do so by United States District Judge James S. Gwin in another case, Wilson v. Williams, No. 4:20 CV 794, it ha[d] not adequately utilized this option at FCI-Elkton." Johnson felt it would have been "futile" to exhaust his remedies "due to the transmission rate of the virus and the unlikelihood of the BOP granting him relief." Nonetheless, the court pointed out that "[d]istrict courts within this Circuit [had] found that the 'requirement of exhaustion applies equally to § 2241 petitions in which COVID-19 is the backdrop for the relief sought.'" In addition to concluding Johnson had not exhausted his remedies, the court found that "the undersigned District Judge cannot hold Warden Williams in contempt for violating Judge Gwin’s Order in another case" because "Judge Gwin has the authority to determine whether the Warden violated his Order."
Johnson v. Williams, No. 4:20 CV 1325, 2020 WL 7324763 (N.D. Ohio Oct. 22, 2020)
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.