The court denied petitioner’s request for release on bond from immigration detention, ruling his detention was not unreasonably prolonged. As petitioner does not suffer from any preexisting conditions that would put him at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and has already had a separate and previous public health-based petition for release denied, the Court did not find COVID-19 to be a factor favoring release.
Lewis v. Souza, No. 1:20-10848 (PBS), Dkt. No. 14 (D. Mass. May 19, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
5/19/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Preliminary Injunction (PI), Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Massachusetts
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail]
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Compassionate Release Specific Characteristics
Has a significant criminal history
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-10848 (PBS)
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Mass.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention, Federal Medical Center
Name of Facility
Bristol County House of Corrections
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference, Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Possession of marijuana; failure to appear; probation violation; breach of peace; strangulation in the third degree; unlawful restraint; reckless endangerment; criminal trespass; threatening; possession with intent to distribute; carrying a dangerous weapon; and a probation violation
Case Status
Decision Made But Case Still Pending
Compassionate Release Exhaustion Holdingsin Federal Case
An individual can move for compassionate release after 30 days have passed from the date the application was submitted to the warden, irrespective of whether the warden has granted or denied the request., Exhaustion is subject to equitable exceptions., Other, The exact wording: "[A] court may do so only upon motion of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") or "upon motion of the defendant after the defendant has fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the [BOP] to bring a motion on the defendant's behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant's facility, whichever is earlier.'"
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Asthma, Cardiac Disease, Diabetes, High Cholesterol, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Other, Various heart conditions (the exact conditions are not specified)
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
Charges
Breach of peace; threatening
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.