Petitioner John Ways brought a pro se petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Petitioner argued that he is being illegally detained and subjected to unlawful conditions of confinement knowingly exposing him to COVID-19 and, because of his age and medical conditions (54 years old, COPD, severe asthma, high blood pressure), to an immediate death. The court denied the petition for two reasons. First, the court reasoned that Ways did not present a ‘core’ habeas challenge contesting the validity or duration of one’s conviction or sentence, and instead sought injunctive relief based on unconstitutional conditions of confinement, which is not covered by habeas relief. Second, the court found that Ways’ reliance on Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 124 and the CARES Act is misplaced, because the executive order applies to prisoners confined by the New Jersey Department of Corrections, not the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Further, because the CARES Act “does not mandate home confinement for any class of inmate,” but only permits the increase of maximum amount of time available in the form of home confinement, this would not apply to Petitioner's claim either. As such, the court denied Ways’ petition and further noted that he must first seek home confinement under the CARES Act or file a civil rights claim contesting the conditions of his confinement before bringing a habeas petition.
Ways v. Ortiz, No. 1:20-cv-07438-NLH, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112221 (D.N.J. June 26, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
06/26/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
New Jersey
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions
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.