Jones v. Wolf (W.D.N.Y) - Immigration PI Grant - Improved Conditions
The court previously granted and extended a TRO for some of the 23 petitioners, who are in immigration detention. The TRO applied to those petitioners who were over 65years of age and/or had pre-existing health conditions, and it required either release or sufficient "social distancing" measures (like individual cells and showering in isolation) and stipulating that denial of these safety measures would constitute a Due Process violation. Here, the court converted the TRO into a PI for some of the petitioners, who were still being denied sufficient safety measures. The court enjoined the defendants from detaining one petitioner if they could not provide sufficient social distancing measures, and it denied the PI to other petitioners who received sufficient safety measures and/or requested alternative measures or release.
Jones v. Wolf, No. 20-CV-361, 2020 WL 1643857 (W.D.N.Y. Apr. 2, 2020)
Elderly, Immigrant Detention, Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-00361-LJV
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
W.D.N.Y.
Decision
Motions Partially Granted
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention
Name of Facility
Buffalo Federal Detention Facility
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Legal Authority
Other, 28 U.S.C. §2241
Release Conditions
The court granted conditional release to one petitioner, Gomatee Ramsundar, unless she could be provided with proper social distancing measures.
Case Status
Decision Made But Case Still Pending
Improved Conditions Ordered
Petitioners granted improved conditions cannot be denied "social distancing" and other protective measures, including "placement in single-occupancy cells; accommodation to eat meals in those cells and to bathe and shower in isolation; the provision, without charge, of sufficient shower disinfectant, masks, and ample soap; and the requirement that all BFDF staff and officers wear masks whenever interacting with these petitioners."
Motions Partially Granted
Of the 23 petitioners in this case, the court denied preliminary injunctions to seven petitioners. The court granted in part and denied in part the preliminary injunctions for the remaining petitioners, denying requests for release or alternative safety precautions to those already in place, but enjoining respondents from denying the petitioners "social distancing" and other protective measures.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions Notes
Age, over 65 years old
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.