Filed Date: March 13, 2020
Closed Date: April 16, 2020
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COVID-19 Summary: This is a combined mandamus and habeas petition filed in March where an inmate requested release due to his heightened risk of contracting COVID-19, due to his HIV-positive status. Relief was denied on April 16.
On March 19, 2020, the plaintiff, an inmate at Belmont Correctional Institute, filed this petition for writ of mandamus or, in the alternative, habeas corpus. The petition was filed against Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and the Warden of Belmont Correctional Institution. He argued that the prison was not engaging in proper social distancing amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 and that the common areas were overcrowded, an environment that would make it particularly easy for the virus to spread. To make matters worse, the plaintiff claimed, he was HIV-positive. He claimed that this brought his chance of death to somewhere between twenty and fifty percent. According to the plaintiff, failure to allow for proper social distancing constituted a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. He sought release in order to avoid contact with the virus.
Early in April, the ACLU of Ohio submitted a motion asking the court to file an amicus brief on behalf of the petitioner.
On April 16, nearly a month later, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a one-paragraph order that denied the petitioner habeas corpus for failure to state a claim, but also allowed the ACLU of Ohio to file an amicus brief. Justice Michael Donnelly wrote a concurring opinion, arguing that habeas was not appropriate because petitioner sought only to get away from the environment of prison, not release from state custody. He also stated that the court did not have the power to force the executive to release the petitioner via a writ of mandamus.
Summary Authors
Jack Hibbard (7/16/2020)
Becker, Susan Jane (Ohio)
Bonham, Elizabeth (Ohio)
Levenson, Freda J. (Ohio)
Mead, Joseph W. (Ohio)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 2:26 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Ohio
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: March 13, 2020
Closing Date: April 16, 2020
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Inmate at Belmont Correctional Institution in Ohio
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, State
Warden of Belmont Correctional Institution, State
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Special Case Type(s):
Appellate Court is initial court
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General:
Sanitation / living conditions
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
COVID-19:
Type of Facility: