COVID-19 Summary: This is a putative class action by five individuals held at Lompoc, a low-security prison facing one of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 among U.S. federal prisons. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants failed to undertake reasonable preventative measures, which allowed the virus to spread to 60% of those in custody. The plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief for improved conditions of confinement, as well as a writ of habeas corpus for release. On July 14, the court granted the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction and granted provisional class certification. On September 18, the court denied the defendant's July 2 motion to dismiss the case. On September 10, the plaintiffs had submitted a motion to enforce compliance with the preliminary injunction and an order to show cause which was granted on October 8. The case is ongoing.
On May 16, 2020, five individuals filed a putative class action against Lompoc, a low-security prison facing one of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 among U.S federal prisons, for immediate relief on behalf of a proposed class of all current and future people in post-conviction custody at Lompoc. The plaintiffs alleged that the Warden of Lompoc and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) failed to adequately treat infected prisoners and implement reasonable health and safety measures, which resulted in 60% of the population at Lompoc testing positive. The plaintiffs also alleged that despite BOP’s broadened discretion to allow for home confinement during the pandemic, prisoners reporting symptoms were instead placed in solitary confinement in converted warehouses without medical care. Additionally, the plaintiffs alleged that because Lompoc was incapable of providing adequate medical care, continued confinement amounted to a violation of their Eighth Amendment rights.
Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California and the Prison Law Office, the plaintiffs brought this action in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California as a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, an injunctive action, and as a declaratory action under § 2201. The plaintiffs sought enlargement of custody to home confinement and for mitigation measures to be adopted in Lompoc to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including: social distancing, free soap, paper towels and cleaning supplies, access to hand sanitizer, daily showers, identification procedures for potentially infected inmates, and proper medical care for those who have COVID-19. The case was assigned to District Judge Consuelo. B Marshall and referred to Magistrate Judge Pedro V. Castillo on May 18.
On June 1, the plaintiffs filed an ex parte motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction requiring Lompoc to undertake health and safety measures as well as a court-supervised process for individualized consideration of each prisoner’s suitability for release on an accelerated schedule. The plaintiffs also moved for class certification on June 4.
On July 2, the defendants moved to dismiss the case, claiming that the habeas claim failed because inmate placement decisions are not judicially reviewable and because the plaintiffs failed to exhaust other administrative remedies as required under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). They also argued that the Eighth Amendment claim should be dismissed because the defendant did not act with deliberate indifference.
On July 14, the court granted the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction and granted provisional class certification. 107 Fed.R.Serv.3d 477. The defendants were ordered to provide the court a list identifying all members of the class and evaluate each provisional class member’s eligibility for home confinement, giving substantial weight to the inmate’s risk factors for severe illness or death from COVID-19 based on age (over 50) or underlying health conditions, among other things.
On September 10, the plaintiffs submitted a motion to enforce compliance with the preliminary injunction and an order to show cause. The plaintiffs claimed that defendant's failure to promptly release approved class members and the denial of home confinement violated the terms of the preliminary injunction.
The court denied the defendant's motion to dismiss on September 18, finding that the plaintiffs asserted a proper habeas claim challenging the fact of their confinement, and that the habeas claim is not foreclosed by the requirements of the PLRA. The court also found that the plaintiffs plead sufficient facts to satisfy the objective prong of their Eighth Amendment claim by alleging that they are are at substantial risk of exposure to COVID-19 and to satisfy the subjective prong by alleging that the defendants have ignored, and therefore have been deliberately indifferent, to the known risks of COVID-19 based on the conditions at Lompoc. The court also disagreed with the defendants that the plaintiffs failed exhaust administrative remedies for their claims, noting that the plaintiffs' complaint alleges that “since the COVID-19 outbreak in Lompoc, those incarcerated have been denied access to the administrative remedy process,” and “[s]taff have not been accepting the forms required to initiate the process, claiming they cannot do so due to the exigency of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The court appointed inspector submitted a status report on the Lompoc facility regarding the conditions and the adequacy of the defendant's response to the pandemic. The inspector identified several deficiencies in several areas, including COVID-19 screening among detained people, lack of timely access to health care, and lack of infection control in housing areas.
On October 8, the court granted the plaintiffs' motion to enforce compliance with the preliminary injunction and ordered defendants to confirm that all eligible class members were released to home confinement and if some class members were denied release, to provide an explanation to the court.
The case is ongoing.
Averyn Lee - 09/21/2020
Chandler Hart-McGonigle - 11/29/2020
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