The court denied petitioner's TRO seeking release or a new custody hearing before an immigration judge ("IJ"). Petitioner requested release or a new custody hearing due to his schizophrenia diagnosis (especially in light of Covid-19) and the length of his detention (around 8 months), making claims on both substantive and procedural due process grounds. Petitioner's substantive due process claim was denied because he had brought the same claim in relation to a class action suit, with the judge stating that "[p]etitioner’s recourse is to file a motion for reconsideration in [the class action]—not to file a new motion for release before a different judge." For the procedural due process claim, the court ruled that while the defendant's interest in being released from detention outweighed the government's interest in not conducting a custody hearing (since there was no issue of cost or burden), the IJ's determination that petitioner was "a danger to society" was sufficient to deny relief since "[petitioner] has not argued or offered evidence of changed circumstances that would affect the Immigration Judge’s prior finding of dangerousness."
Montoya Echeverria v. Barr, No. 20-CV-02917-JSC, 2020 WL 2759731 (N.D. Cal. May 27, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
5/27/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Bond Hearing, Class Certification, Improved Conditions, Preliminary Injunction (PI), Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
California
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Immigrant Detention, Parole or Probation Violations, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail], Significant Criminal History
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Compassionate Release Specific Characteristics
Has a disciplinary history, Has a significant criminal history, Went to trial
Case Tracking Number
20-cv-02917-JSC
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
N.D. Cal.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Yuba County Jail
Legal Authority
Procedural Due Process (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
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.
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.