The court granted a preliminary injunction to a fourth group of people in civil immigration detention at Calhoun County Correctional Facility (CCCF), in line with its prior rulings in the Malam litigation. Various plaintiffs suffered from tuberculosis, hypertension, arthritis, diabetes and asthma, among other chronic conditions. The court conducted a thorough overview of caselaw to determine the proper standard with which to analyze this claim. The court departed from its previous holdings applying the deliberate indifference standard, instead applying the Bell v. Wolfish punitive punishment standard and finding that the conditions of petitioners' confinement were likely excessive and punitive in relation to the government’s legitimate interest in detaining the plaintiffs while adjudicating their removal proceedings. The court also did not credit the respondents' representations about safety at the facility, especially since six cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed at CCCF in the month prior to the decision date. The court granted a preliminary injunction, finding the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their Fifth Amendment claim. Also discussed in this opinion were prior findings of flight risk and danger to the community for some of the plaintiffs.
Malam v. Adducci, No. 20-cv-10829, 2020 WL 3512850 (E.D. Mich. June 28, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
6/28/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Preliminary Injunction (PI), Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Michigan
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention, Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Significant Criminal History
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-10829-JEL
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
E.D. Mich.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Calhoun County Correctional Facility
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Legal Authority
§ 2241 Habeas
Release Conditions
Plaintiffs are subject to fourteen days of home quarantine; Plaintiffs must comply with all Michigan Executive Orders; and Plaintiffs must appear at all hearings pertaining to their removal proceedings; Defendants may impose other reasonable nonconfinement terms of supervision; Defendants are further restrained from arresting Petitioner for civil immigration detention purposes. These conditions remain in place until the State of Emergency in Michigan (related to COVID- 19) is lifted or until further Court Order stating otherwise.
Convictions
Larceny less than $100, larceny in a building, delivery of cocaine, breaking and entering an automobile with damage, possession of marijuana, controlled substance delivery/manufacture, possession of cocaine, possession of analogues, operating while intoxicated, misdemeanor domestic violence. Some plaintiffs were subject to mandatory detention.
Case Status
Decision Made But Case Still Pending
Motions Partially Granted
The court granted a preliminary injunction for six plaintiffs. The Court denied the motion as moot with respect to Leonard Baroi, who had been transferred out of the jurisdiction.
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.
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