The court granted a request for release with conditions in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 3143. The court found that the applicant had a suitable third-party custodian, her brother, and as a sixty-four year old with a coughing ailment and diagnosed anxiety, she was unlikely to be a flight risk during a global pandemic for which she was particularly vulnerable.
United States v. Sturmer, No. 8:18-CR-468, 2020 WL 2097706 (D. Md. May 1, 2020)
Elderly, Immigrant Detention, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
20-CR-18468-GJH
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Md.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Federal Detention Center [typically federal pretrial detention]
Name of Facility
DC Jail/Central Treatment Facility
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference, Procedural Due Process (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Self-quarantine; her brother will act as her third-party custodian; location-monitoring; travel restrictions; mental health treatment; and drug testing;
Convictions
Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; Aggravated identity theft.
Case Status
Decision Made
Compassionate Release Exhaustion Holdingsin Federal Case
An individual can move for compassionate release after 30 days have passed from the date the application was submitted to the warden, irrespective of whether the warden has granted or denied the request.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Age, Other, Persistent cough treated with Albuterol (used to treat asthma; no specific diagnosis for a respiratory condition)
Pre-Existing Health Conditions Notes
Age (64), Other (persistent cough treated with albuterol)
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not discussed
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.