Mr. Barkman was serving intermittent weekly two-day sentences to complete a sixty-day sentence. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washoe County Detention Facility's inadequate plan to deal with the pandemic, the risks to those incarcerated at the facility, and the risks to Mr. Barkman, the court ordered a 30-day suspension of Mr. Barkman's intermittent confinement.
United States v. Barkman, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45628 (D. Nev. 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
3/17/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Class Certification, Improved Conditions, Other, Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), Motion for Modification of Probation Conditions
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Nevada
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Immigrant Detention, Parole or Probation Violations, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail]
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
19-CR-00052-RCJ
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Nev.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Washoe County Detention Facility
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
30-day temporary suspension of intermittent confinement required as a condition of probation
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Age, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Obesity, Other, Pre-Diabetes, Heart disease, Respiratory disease, confined to a bed or chair for more than 50% of his waking hours
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Not Discussed
Non-Legal Actions
- In a footnote, the court cited an article discussing how Mike Pompeo called for the immediate humanitarian release of detained Americans in Iran.
- In a footnote, the court cited favorably how Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and joined public health experts called on Governor Cuomo to grant emergency clemencies to elderly and sick prisoners.
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.