The plaintiffs, housed at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Wallace Pack Unit, a prison for the elderly and infirm, moved for class certification after they had won a preliminary injunction but the Fifth Circuit had stayed the injunction. The District Court certified a general class of current and future inmates that would be harmed by COVID-19 as a result of TDCJ policies, as well as a high-risk subclass of inmates at risk of severe illness or death. The court also addressed defendant's exhaustion arguments. Earlier in the litigation, the Fifth Circuit, in staying the preliminary injunction, had ruled that defendants were likely to succeed on the merits of their PLRA exhaustion claim, as plaintiffs had not exhausted their options before filing for relief in federal court. However, in concluding differently, the District Court noted that the facts had changed since then. It noted: (1) that some of the plaintiffs had actually filed grievances through the TDCJ prior to the hearing in the 5th Circuit; (2) those grievances had since been exhausted; (3) that in the interim 267 inmates had been diagnosed with COVID-19, and at least 18 had died; and (4) that the TDJC itself had to change its grievance policy for COVID-19 related grievances. Thus, the court ruled that the TDCJ procedure was "unavailable" to the plaintiffs and therefore their claim was not barred by the PLRA's exhaustion requirement.
Valentine v. Collier, No. 4:20-cv-01115 (S.D. Tex. June 27, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
6/27/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Class Certification
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Texas
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
4:20-cv-01115
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
S.D. Tex.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
State Prison
Name of Facility
Wallace Pack Unit
Legal Authority
Other, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) Exhaustion, Fed. R. Civ. P. 23
General class: All current and future inmates incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Wallace Pack Unit who are subjected to TDCJ and the Texas Correctional Managed Health Care Committee’s policy and practice of failing to provide protection from exposure to COVID-19 during the class period. High-Risk Subclass: All current and future inmates incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Wallace Pack Unit who are subjected to TDCJ’s policy and practice of failing to provide protection from exposure to COVID-19 during the class period and who are, according to the CDC, most at risk for severe illness, injury, or death from COVID-19 due to their age or their health conditions.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Yes
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.