The court granted the petitioner's motion for a temporary restraining order and ordered him released from immigration detention, concluding that the petitioner was likely to succeed on his conditions of confinement claim due to inadequate conditions at the facility (such as their failure to allow petitioner to adequately social distance, use hand sanitizer, or wash his hands, especially in light of the petitioner’s preexisting health conditions). The court also found that the ongoing pandemic, in tandem with petitioner’s health, constituted extraordinary circumstances warranting release on bail.
R.P. v. Decker, Civ. No. 20-3853 (KM), Dkt. No. 29 (D.N.J. April 17, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
4/17/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Improved Conditions, Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
New Jersey
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail], Significant Criminal History
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
20-cv-3853 (KM)
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D.N.J.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention
Name of Facility
Hudson Country Correctional Center
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference, Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Fifth degree criminal possession of stolen property; second degree criminal contempt; second degree criminal trespass; second degree attempted strangulation; and multiple counts of petit larceny
Asthma (severity is not specified in the document)
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Yes
Potential Research
There seems to be some split among the States about whether conditions of confinement claims can be raised under § 2241. In Jefferson v. Ohio, 3:18cv779, Dkt. No. 38 (N.D. Ohio April 27, 2020) the Court seemed doubtful about the ability for petitioner's to raise those claims, but here the Court allowed it. I'm wondering what the overall trend is there and whether its worth looking into that lack of consistency/discretion.
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.