Christopher Kennedy originally filed this action in state court as a petition for mandamus pursuant to 735 ILCS §5/14-101, et seq., seeking basic human needs, food, and facilities, which he claims have not been adequately provided during the COVID-19 quarantine in his state prison. Defendant sought to remove Kennedy’s petition, arguing that Kennedy’s arguments fall under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and that the matter should be removed to the federal court. The court examined Defendant’s arguments under 28 U.S.C. § 1441 (“removal statute”) and concluded that Kennedy’s petition was improperly removed. The court reasoned that contrary to Defendant’s claim, Kennedy’s mandamus petition did not mention 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the PLRA, or any constitutional right violations; it was solely pursuant to Illinois law, asking that Defendant perform its ministerial duties. Since Kennedy is the “master of his complaint” and he has chosen to pursue the claim under state law instead of alleging a violation of constitutional rights, the court concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction and remanded the case to the state court.
Kennedy v. Rodgers, No. 20-cv-454, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108626 (S.D. Ill. June 22, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
06/22/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Improved Conditions
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Illinois
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison]
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
3:20-cv-00454-NJR
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
S.D. Ill.
Decision
Other
Place of Incarceration
State Prison
Name of Facility
Pinckneyville Correctional Center
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference, Other, First Amendment - retaliation
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.