Edward Nellson brought a class action motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, arguing that USP Florence is not providing adequate protection against COVID-19 and thereby violating his Eighth Amendment rights. The plaintiffs requested that the court order the prison to begin instituting screening, testing, and isolation of both inmates and staff, as well as improved sanitation protocols. The court denied Nellson’s petition for the following reasons. First, the court found that Nellson failed to exhaust his administrative remedies because he did not utilize remedies available under 28 C.F.R. § 542.18, and an exceptional waiver did not apply since Nellson did not argue that Defendants were unwilling or unable to grant him relief. Second, even assuming Nellson exhausted his administrative remedies, the court found that he would still not be entitled to a TRO because the measures taken by Defendants regarding screening, testing, and quarantine was sufficient to satisfy Nellson’s sought-after relief. As such, Nellson would not be able to establish irreparable injury and thus could not succeed on his TRO or PI motion.
Nellson v. Barnhart, No. 20-CV-00756-PAB, 2020 WL 1890670 (D. Colo. Apr. 16, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
04/16/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Improved Conditions, Preliminary Injunction (PI), Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Colorado
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison]
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-00756-PAB
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Colo.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Federal Prison
Name of Facility
United States Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference
Case Status
Decision Made
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not Discussed
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
No
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.