The court found that it had jurisdiction to adjudicate bail requests from habeas petitioner class members and established procedures for considering these bail applications. The court found that current habeas petitioners remained detained in conditions the court had already found to be a violation of the Fifth Amendment for other people in immigration detention. It also found that the COVID-19 pandemic constituted an “exceptional circumstance deserving special treatment in the interests of justice,” justifying the district court’s adjudication of these bail applications. The court laid out a plan to conduct individualized bail hearings to assess whether each habeas litigation group member would pose either a risk of flight or danger to the community if granted bail and planned a schedule for considering claims made first by undisputed and then disputed class members. The court also considered requests from seven additional individuals seeking to intervene as named plaintiffs, adding some to the existing class groups and requesting additional documentation from others.
Malam v. Adducci, No. 20-cv-10829, 2020 WL 4496597 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 4, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
08/04/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Bond Hearing, Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Michigan
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention, Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
5:20-cv-10829-JEL-APP
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
E.D. Mich.
Decision
Other
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Calhoun County Correctional Facility
Legal Authority
Fifth Amendment - Prolonged Detention, Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
All noncitizens in ICE custody at the Calhoun County Correctional Facility and a habeas litigation group of all such noncitizens who are at increased risk of a dire outcome from COVID-19.
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.