COVID-19 Summary: The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed this class action suit on behalf of pretrial detainees in a PA jail and a subclass of those who were at a heightened risk of contracting COVID-19. The complaint alleged that the conditions in the jail failed to meet CDC recommendations and amounted to a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fourteenth Amendment. The parties moved for settlement by entry of a consent order implementing public health measures on May 26, which mooted the request for a preliminary injunction. The remainder of the litigation concerning the ADA and habeas claims remains ongoing.
Plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit, three people detained at the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ), filed this complaint in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on April 8, 2020. They were represented by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Abolitionist Law Center, and Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project. The complaint alleged that the conditions in the jail increased the likelihood that they will contract COVID-19 in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fourteenth Amendment. They sought declaratory and injunctive relief as well as writs of habeas corpus. The case was assigned to Judge Cathy Bissoon and the named defendants were Allegheny County and the warden of the jail.
The proposed class included a broader class with two subclasses. The broader class encompassed all current and future detainees at ACJ. The two subclasses were people who, by reason of age or medical condition, were particularly vulnerable to injury or death if they were to contract COVID-19 (“Medically-Vulnerable Subclass”), and persons who, by reason of their disability, were particularly vulnerable to injury or death if they were to contract COVID-19 (“Disability Subclass").
According to the complaint, after the declaration of a national emergency in light of COVID-19, the jail managed to decrease its population by 20% but failed to take the additional necessary steps to protect the people detained there. Rather than implementing best practices as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, jail administration instead consolidated how people were housed, leaving an entire floor empty and increasing the number of people housed in cells with another person.
The plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on April 9, 2020, seeking immediate release from ACJ. After a status conference in May, the parties began working jointly on a consent order. They moved for settlement by entry of consent order on May 26, 2020.
The consent order included requirements that the defendants adopt and effectively implement a comprehensive policy entitled “Continuing of Operations Plan: COVID-19 (Updated)." This policy details updates to be made across all facets of operation in ACJ. The 17 major categories the policy covers are: 1) Employee screening; 2) Procedures for screening and housing determinations for new arrests/admissions to ACJ; 3) Treatment and isolation; 4) Specimen testing; 5) Contact study review; 6) Healthcare operations; 7) Prevention and education; 8) Non-essential services; 9) Courts, transfers, legal services, and releases; 10) Social distancing in general population units; 11) Dietary; 12) Environmental cleaning in employee areas, housing units, intake areas, and of restraints; 13) Inmate phone calls, hygiene, and recreation; 14) Population management; 15) Provision of sanitation and hygiene products; 16) Notification to PA Department of Health; and 17) Employee illness/staffing levels. The consent order also included weekly reporting requirements to plaintiffs' attorneys regarding illness in ACJ.
The court granted the consent order on May 27 and in doing so denied as moot the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction in light of the agreement. The order explicitly did not resolve the plaintiffs' claims under the ADA or the habeas petitions.
The plaintiffs moved to extend the consent order on August 24, which Judge Bissoon granted that same day. The consent order was further extended on November 23 and February 22. The case is ongoing in alternative dispute resolution and discovery.
Alex Moody - 05/28/2020
Chandler Hart-McGonigle - 11/26/2020
Tessa McEvoy - 02/25/2021
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