Roberts filed a pro se § 1983 claim against the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and his parole agent (Scott). The court understood Roberts to be seeking release from the halfway house in which he was civilly committed based on concerns that the facility has not taken sufficient measures to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. The court dismissed the claim against the board as it was not subject to suit under § 1983, dismissed the claim against Agent Scott for failure to state a claim, encouraged Roberts to file an amended complaint with specific factual allegations and proper defendants.
Roberts v. Scott, No. 20-CV-2314, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93902 (E.D. Pa. May 29, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
5/29/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Bond Hearing, Delayed Surrender, Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Type of Court
State Appellate Court
Location
Pennsylvania
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Parole or Probation Violations, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Compassionate Release Specific Characteristics
Only served a small portion of their sentence (less than 33%)
Case Tracking Number
20-cv-02314-JMY
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
E.D. Pa.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Halfway House
Name of Facility
Kintock Halfway House
Legal Authority
First Step Act Exhaustion, First Step Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), Other, Section 1983, § 2241 Habeas, U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13
Case Status
Decision Made
Compassionate Release Exhaustion Holdingsin Federal Case
Exhaustion is subject to equitable exceptions.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Age, Asthma, Cancer, Cardiac Disease, Diabetes, High Cholesterol, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Lung Disease, Other, Recent surgeries, and persistent pain and vision complications.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
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.