The petitioners, immigrant detainees at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island, have brought the putative class action habeas claiming that the conditions in which they are confined violate their Fifth Amendment due process rights by subjecting them to substantial and imminent risk of severe injury from infection with the COVID-19 virus. The court ordered no detainees to be moved outside the District of Rhode Island without 48 hours advance notice to the court. The court held that the question of additional detainees being moved into Wyatt is a more complicated matter, as it requires a factual inquiry and would have an impact on future orders of other federal courts and the respondents at this point have not been served, so it postponed consideration of the acceptance of new detainees at Wyatt to a more appropriate time.
None
DETAILS
Decision
Date
05/19/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Preliminary Injunction (PI)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Rhode Island
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-00216-MSM-PAS
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D.R.I.
Decision
Motions Partially Granted
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention
Name of Facility
Wyatt Detention Center
Legal Authority
Fifth Amendment - Prolonged Detention
Case Status
Decision Made
Motions Partially Granted
Injunction banning transfer of detainees out of the jurisdiction was granted, but injunction banning acceptance of new detainees at the Wyatt facility was not granted.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not Discussed
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Not Discussed
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.