The court granted a motion for compassionate release, holding Defendant's Tuberculosis, nonviolent offense, short sentence, and low risk of recidivism favored release. The court did not not hold that exhaustion under the First Step Act could be completely waived, but rather that in these circumstances waiting 30 days was unnecessary. The individual had latent tuberculosis and the government produced medical evaluations to try to show that they were not at higher COVID risk. The court held that while there was not solid evidence regarding latent TB as a risk factor for contracting COVID-19, “regardless of whether latent TB can make a person more susceptible to catching COVID-19, if Atwi does catch it, the risks to someone with a co-infection of TB and COVID-19 ‘are readily apparent,’ as both are respiratory diseases that affect the lungs” and “[t]he Court is not willing to take that risk.” Id. at *5.
United States v. Atwi, No. 18-20607 (LJM), 2020 WL 1910152 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 20, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
4/20/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Discovery, Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Michigan
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
Yes
Compassionate Release Specific Characteristics
Only served a small portion of their sentence (less than 33%)
Case Tracking Number
18-20607-LJM
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
E.D. Mich.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Federal Prison
Name of Facility
FCI Milan
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Time served and 14 days (for prison quarantine), remainder of sentence in home confinement.
Convictions
Food stamp fraud; false income tax return. 4-month sentence.
Case Status
Decision Made
Compassionate Release Exhaustion Holdingsin Federal Case
Exhaustion is subject to equitable exceptions.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Other, Smoking, Substance Use Disorder, Tuberculosis, Open Gunshot Wound
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
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.