The IRS originally sent out 85,000 checks, worth around $100m, to incarcerated individuals for COVID relief, then later wanted the money refunded, deciding that incarcerated individuals were ineligible. The court found that this retraction was harmful, against public policy, and went against Congress's intent for the CARES Act. The court decided to certify a class of all incarcerated individuals who were incarcerated from March 2020 until September 2020, who would otherwise be eligible for the CARES Act monetary relief. The court also granted a motion for a preliminary injunction that prohibits the IRS from excluding the class from COVID relief.
Scholl v. Mnuchin, 489 F. Supp. 3d 1008 (N.D. Cal. 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
09/24/2020
Practice Area
Other
Practice Area
All charges, state and federal
Relief Requested
Class Certification, Monetary Relief, Other, Preliminary Injunction (PI), Motion to appoint co-lead counsel
Preliminary Injunction was granted to make incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, who would otherwise be eligible, eligible for CARES Act monetary relief. Improved conditions by giving money to incarcerated people who can supplement their own food and hygiene needs in prison.
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.