The Court found that, in light of Petitioners underlying heart condition (congenital heart disease) placing him at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, the public's interest in decreasing the spread of COVID-19 is best met by releasing Petitioner to home confinement with electronic and telephonic monitoring. Petitioner was successful on the merits because he was at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and there was an active outbreak at Hudson County Correctional Facility. Petitioner did in fact contract COVID-19. The Court relied on the testimony of Petitioner's doctor stating that the facility was "'very unlikely to meet the correctional standard of care for someone like [Petitioner's] underlying medical profile." Despite the efforts of the correctional facility to manage and minimize the spread of COVID-19, the Court found that remaining in the facility constituted irreparable harm because, at home, Petitioner would be able to self-isolate in his own bedroom and access care from his family and New York public hospitals.
Yeury J.S. v. Decker, Civ. No. 20-5071 (KM) (D.N.J. May 11, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
5/11/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Parole Hearing, Preliminary Injunction (PI), Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
New Jersey
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Immigrant Detention, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail]
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Compassionate Release Specific Characteristics
Has a significant criminal history, Only served a small portion of their sentence (less than 33%), Went to trial
Case Tracking Number
2:20-cv-05071-KM
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
S.D.N.Y.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail, Federal Correctional Institution
Name of Facility
Hudson County Correctional Facility
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Petitioner was released "to strict conditions including home confinement, as well as electronic and telephonic monitoring." The specific conditions are in an accompanying Order.
Convictions
Convicted for resisting arrest or obstruction of public authority, DWI, aggravated assault, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence
Case Status
Decision Made
Compassionate Release Exhaustion Holdingsin Federal Case
Other, Court deferred the case, giving the BOP 20 days from filing of initial application for compassionate release (rather than the normal 30 day requirement).
Charged with removability for having been convicted of, or admitting to, a crime of moral turpitude. Petitioner is currently applying for a waiver of inadmissibility under § 212(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
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.