Documenting early federal court COVID jurisprudence in response to various release requests from federal defendants and inmates
In this post on Monday (March 23), I documented some recent pre-coronavirus cases in which federal prisoners secured sentence reductions under the (so-called compassionate release) statutory provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). I expect we will see more and more of these cases in the weeks ahead, especially as FAMM and NACDL and other groups look to support efforts to move vulnerable federal inmates out of unhealthy prison facilities via this avenue.
In doing Westlaw research this morning, I thought it might be informative to look more generally at how federal judges are responding to COVID-19 related claims and issues in criminal cases. As is always the case, there is not a predictable pattern as to which opinions show up in Westlaw and which ones do not, so Westlaw searches alone cannot serve as a form of reliable comprehensive research. Nevertheless, a search in the "Federal District Court" database for "covid prison" returned nearly 30 federal cases from just the last two days(!), and here is a small sampling of what courts are considering and saying in written opinions that now appear on Westlaw:
United States v. Clark, No. 19-40068-01-HLT, 2020 WL 1446895 (D. Kansas March 25, 2020) (responding to defendant detailed pending trial: "On balance, Mr. Clark has not established compelling reasons sufficient to persuade the court that temporary release is necessary. He has established only that his status as a diabetic puts him at an increased risk for experiencing severe illness if he were to contract COVID-19. His arguments regarding the risk of an outbreak at his facility is speculative. Furthermore, he has not established that his proposed release plan would necessarily alleviate his overall COVID-19 risks.")
United States v. Eberhardt, No. 13-cr-00313-PJH-1, 2020 WL 1450745 (N.D. Cal. March 25, 2020) (responding to most for a reduced sentence: "Furthermore, defendant fails to show that concerns about the spread of COVID-19, without other factors to consider in his particular case, present extraordinary and compelling reasons that warrant modification of his sentence and immediate release from custody pursuant to § 3582(c)(1)(A).")
United States v. Garlock, No. 18-cr-00418-VC-1, 2020 WL 1439980 (N.D. Cal. March 25, 2020) (sua sponte deferral of prison report date: "To avoid adding to the chaos and creating unnecessary health risks, offenders who are on release and scheduled to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons in the coming months should, absent truly extraordinary circumstances, have their surrender dates extended until this public health crisis has passed.")
United States v. Little, No. S3 20 CR 57(GBD), 2020 WL 1439979 (S.D.N.Y. March 24, 2020) (reconsidering bail request: "The health risk to Jerlane Little, because of her medical condiction3 given the conditions at the MCC, as described in detail below, necessitates her temporary release on bail until this pandemic has ended.")
United States v. Fitzgerald, No. 2:17-cr-00295-JCM-NJK, 2020 WL 1433932 (D. Nevada. March 24, 2020) (responding to habeas application: "Defendant argued for the first time in reply that he faces an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 if he remains in custody.... Defendant’s argument, however, applies equally to anyone in custody or, for that matter, at the halfway house or anywhere else in this community or any other. Defendant’s argument applies equally to every detainee in detention; however, the Court cannot release every detainee at risk of contracting COVID-19 because the Court would then be obligated to release every detainee.")
United States v. Williams, No. PWG-13-544, 2020 WL 1434130 (D. Nevada. March 24, 2020) (responding to emergency motion to reconsider setting bond: "The Court has reflected on all of the considerations and factors in play at the detention hearing held on February 11. Even with the pandemic that has befallen us, it does not change the calculus of detention here.... Defendant has still failed to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that release is appropriate. The existence of the present pandemic, without more, is not tantamount to a “get out of jail free” card. Not even for the older person being detained. While there has been a change in conditions as a result of the pandemic, there has not been enough change to justify the release of Mr. Williams.")
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