A Magistrate Judge denied a pro se federal habeas petitioner's motion for emergency release and then denied a motion for reconsideration of that initial decision. The Magistrate Judge found that the motion should have been brought under 28 U.S.C. § 1983 but assumed that a district court had the authority to issue release prior to a decision on a habeas petition given both extraordinary circumstances and a high probability of success on the habeas petition. The Judge did not find a high probability of success on Petitioner's habeas petition and found that while COVID-19 is an extraordinary situation, Petitioner failed to establish that prison authorities were unwilling or unable to address the problem within the prison where Petitioner is incarcerated. On reconsideration, the Court affirmed its prior order, finding that although Petitioner's release date is in October 2020, the prison where Petitioner was incarcerated has had only one confirmed case and prison authorities in that facility were taking protective measures, like wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Age, Asthma, Cancer, Lung Disease, Other, Smoking, high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a heart stent, Gout, and an artificial hip
Pre-Existing Health Conditions Notes
Age (68); Cancer (type of cancer not specified)
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Yes
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.