In this order, the Court certifies a general class of immigration detainees being held by ICE at Bristol County House of Corrections and the C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, based on "finding of commonality for class claims against dangerous detention conditions." ICE tried to argue that the detainees' claims were "hypothetical” and “conjectural” because “crowding in and of itself does not cause COVID-19 infection if none in the group has contracted COVID-19.” The Court disagreed with this argument, ruling that everyone is at risk of COVID-19 at this time and that the jail setting does not allow the inmates to practice social distancing, as recommended by the CDC. On April 2, 2020, the Court had declined to certify the class as proposed but provisionally certified five subclasses. In this order, the Court did not revisit those subclasses, but rather added one general class of detainees.
Savino v. Souza, No. 20-cv-10617-WGY, 2020 WL 1703844 (D. Mass. Apr. 8, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
4/8/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Class Certification, Implementing Release Procedures, Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Massachusetts
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
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-10617-WGY
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Mass.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Bristol County House of Correction
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
No discussion of convictions/charges in this decision.
Case Status
Decision Made But Case Still Pending
Motions Partially Granted
The Court granted certification of a general class of detainees for their due process claim of deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Hypertension (high blood pressure), Other, Behcet’s, an autoimmune disease
Pre-Existing Health Conditions Notes
The decision discusses the subclasses, one of which is based on medical conditions that would place the persons at higher risk if they contract COVID-19, but does not discuss in detail what those medical conditions are.
Class Action Medically Vulnerable People
Group 2: Detainees with medical conditions recognized under the CDC guidelines as heightening their risk of harm from COVID19 and who have minor, non-violent criminal records or minor, non-violent criminal charges pending.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
Charges
No discussion of convictions/charges in this decision.
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
No
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.