The court denied petitioners’ motions for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and writ of habeas corpus in connection with putative class action, concluding (1) habeas is not available to review questions unrelated to cause of detention, (2) the petitioners failed to exhaust state remedies, (3) exhaustion may not be excused because petitioners have not shown bond hearings are unattainable in state court, (4) the § 1983 for deliberate indifference cannot succeed after Valentine where defendants have mitigated the risk of harm and where there was no evidence of subjective indifference, and (5) PLRA exhaustion applied to the § 1983 claim, due to failure to exhaust the jail's grievance procedures. The court also found that it could not turn CDC recommendations into "orders" for federalism and separation of powers reasons.
Sanchez v. Brown, No. 3:20-cv-00832, 2020 WL 2615931 (N.D. Tex. May 22, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
5/22/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Bond Hearing, Class Certification, Implementing Release Procedures, Improved Conditions, Preliminary Injunction (PI), Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Texas
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Immigrant Detention, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail]
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
3:20-cv-00832 (E)
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
N.D. Tex.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Dallas County Jail
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference, Procedural Due Process (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Age (50 or older); Asthma (severity not listed); Obesity (BMI of 40 or more); Hepatitis (in relation to people of all ages with chronic kidney disease)
Class Action Medically Vulnerable People
The request for Class Action certification was set out in a separate order, but mentioned here. Petitioner's definition of a medically vulnerable subclass was described as "significantly broader than the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's list of conditions. The medically vulnerable subclass includes: people of 50 years of age or older; people of all ages with lung disease; people of all ages with asthma; people of all ages with heart disease; people of all ages who are immunocompromised; people of all ages with chronic kidney disease (including hepatitis and dialysis patients); people of all ages with chronic liver disease; people of all ages with diabetes; people of all ages with epilepsy; people of all ages with hypertension; people of all ages with blood disorders (including sickle cell disease); people of all ages with inherited metabolic disorders; people of all ages who have had strokes; people of all ages who have "developmental delay"; people having a body mass index of 40 or more); people having any other condition identified either now or in the future as being at a particular risk for severe illness/or death caused by COVID-19
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Yes
Charges
4,105 individuals detained on felony charges; <200 individuals detained on misdemeanor charges
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.