In an action which was originally filed in 2001, and where a remedial injunction was being enforced with respect to medical care for state prisoners, incarcerated persons filed an emergency motion to require prison administrators to develop a plan to manage and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in state prisons, including reducing the prison population. The court held that the petitioners had not shown that the administrators acted with deliberate indifference to substantial risk of serious harm, and only a three-judge court could issue an order releasing prisoners.
Plata v. Newsom, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2020 WL 908776 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 17, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
4/17/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Improved Conditions, Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
California
Type of Case
Group
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Asthma, Other, No real detail, but referred to classifications such as High Risk 1, High Risk 2, or Pregnant, or who are currently assigned to the Mental Health Delivery System.
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.