The court denied a motion to release the petitioner pending trial in accordance with the Bail Reform Act despite his argument that his asthma made him a high risk for complications of COVID-19. The court found that the individual had not met his burden of proving that he would not pose a danger to the community due to the gravity of his drug trafficking offense and his previous violations of probation, and emphasized that the court was unable to review the viability of his proposed third-party custodian. The court further determined that he had not shown he faced an elevated risk of COVID-19 and that the mitigation measures at his detention facility were sufficient due to the availability of regular temperature checks, testing, isolation procedures for COVID-positive individuals, and sanitation through Electrostatic Clorox cleaning, and that the facility was able to provide adequate medical care in the case of infection.
United States v. Rochon, No. 3:19-CR-146-TAV, 2020 WL 3273463 (E.D. Tenn. Jun. 17, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
6/17/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Tennessee
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Other, Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail], Significant Criminal History, Prior Convictions: carjacking, armed robbery, unlawfully driving away an automobile, receiving and concealing stolen property–motor vehicle, and felony firearm charges
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
3:19-cr-00146-TAV
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
E.D. Tenn.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Federal Detention Center [typically federal pretrial detention]
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400mg or more of a mixture containing fentanyl and 100g or more of a mixture containing heroin, distribution of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribution 50g or more of methamphetamine
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.