ACLU Lawsuit Seeks Information on Federal Government’s Failed Response to COVID-19 in Jails and Prisons
NEW YORK — The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of the District of Columbia, Williams & Connolly LLP, and attorney David Sobel filed suit today against the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services demanding the immediate release of improperly withheld agency records related to the federal government’s failed response to the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and jails. The lawsuit seeks to uncover critical information about the federal government’s response — and lack thereof — to the coronavirus in detention facilities across the country.
In April and July, the ACLU submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the BOP, DOJ, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking information about the federal government’s lack of preparation for and failed response to the risk of COVID-19 in detention facilities. This includes lax guidance to state and federal facilities on critical issues like mask wearing and social distancing, as well as communications with the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
Today’s filing alleges that the agencies have failed to produce any records while publicly declaring victory over the virus. The lawsuit also cites multiple instances of their dishonest and incompetent handling of the spread of COVID-19 in detention facilities, including:
- Failing to make the BOP director and other DOJ officials available for a September House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing;
- Refusing to respond to the demands of elected officials who this month demanded information on COVID-19 response, citing “mounting evidence that efforts to contain the virus within BOP facilities are failing;” and
- BOP describing its response to the pandemic as “robust” despite a lawsuit brought by the federal corrections officers’ union and the death of six men at Oakdale FCI.
“It is grotesque enough that our federal government has failed to protect people in jails and prisons from COVID-19 — people with lives, families, and constitutional rights. But they have also hidden that failed response from the public while claiming there’s nothing to see here,” said Somil Trivedi, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project. “This is illegal, and we’ll see the administration in court.”
As of the date of the filing of this complaint, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 220,000 people in the United States. The pandemic continues to disproportionately ravage the incarcerated population in this country, and according to the ACLU’s , more than 1,250 incarcerated people have died in jails and prisons due to the disease. There are more than 150,000 people incarcerated in federal facilities throughout the United States. They are disproportionately Black and Brown, and acutely vulnerable to the coronavirus for multiple reasons, including increased numbers of elderly and other at-risk groups and the lack of ability to socially distance.
Despite knowing early on that this population would be particularly susceptible to infection, illness, and death, the federal government failed to prevent the spread behind bars. And despite this reality, government officials have publicly patted themselves on the back while withholding vital information from the public and failing to meet statutory obligations of transparency related to their management of the crisis.
The complaint is here: /legal-document/aclu-v-bop-complaint
Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release
-
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Criminal Law Reform
ACLU Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law AllowsACLU Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law Allows
WASHINGTON – A federal lawsuit brought today by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of D.C., and Jenner & Block LLP challenges the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for unlawfully incarcerating people longer than the law allows under the First Step Act. The lawsuit contends that the BOP’s failure to implement the First Step Act according to its plain language violates the rights of thousands of people who should be returning to their communities and rebuilding their lives but instead remain incarcerated. Signed into law in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump, the bipartisan First Step Act was designed to reduce the population in federal prisons, reform extreme sentencing laws, and provide programming and reentry transition services to people in prison. Central to the First Step Act is a system of earned time credits, which allows people in prison to earn time off their sentences and time out of prison by participating in rehabilitation programs. Through the First Step Act, Congress unambiguously ordered BOP to move people out of prison when they meet certain requirements to use their earned time credits. Instead of faithfully following the mandatory law, BOP adopted a regulation treating the law as optional. As a result, thousands of people, who should already be back in their communities and with their families, remain in prison. “Every extra unlawful day our clients spend in prison is a serious injustice,” said Emma Andersson, deputy director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the ACLU. “It is egregious that the Bureau of Prisons is imprisoning people for months longer than the law allows. The government must follow through on its legal obligation to get people out of prison on time and back into their communities, where they belong.” Additional comments below from: Vanessa Crowe, plaintiff: “Time is what I owed for my wrongdoing, and I have paid my time. But I should not have to spend more time in prison than the law allows. I often reflect on what I will miss during the months after when I should be out of prison. I will miss work and lose out on wages that would help me get back on my feet. I could be a tax paying citizen instead of a burden on society. But most of all, I will miss more precious time with my family. My family and I are ready to tum the page on this period in our lives — we are all ready to start a new life, a life with purpose, hope, and healing together. I want to start that life when I am legally entitled to start it-not five months later.” Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel at ACLU of D.C.: “There’s no excuse for the Bureau of Prisons to pretend not to understand Congress’s clear command that people who have earned the right to early release must be released. This law has been on the books for six years. The Bureau of Prisons has had plenty of time to understand it. Law enforcers should obey the law.” Betsy Henthorne, partner at Jenner & Block: “It has been six years since the First Step Act was signed, but despite Congress’s clear directives, the Bureau of Prisons continues to hold thousands of people in prison longer than the law allows. We should and do expect better—it’s past time for the BOP to ensure that those who have earned their release are able to return home to their families and communities according to the law Congress passed.” -
Maryland Supreme CourtDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Roland Branch v. State of MarylandRoland Branch v. State of Maryland
This petition to the Supreme Court of Maryland asked the court to reconsider its adherence to Whren v. U.S., 517 U.S. 806 (1996), which declared that a traffic stop undertaken for pretextual reasons does not violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution so long as the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation occurred. The ACLU, alongside the ACLU of Maryland, filed an amicus brief in support of the defendant’s petition, in which the ACLU argued that the court should take up the question of whether pretextual stops violate the Maryland Constitution. In September 2024, the Court denied the petition. -
North Carolina Supreme CourtDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
State v. WrightState v. Wright
This case in the North Carolina Supreme Court involves the question of whether the police violated the U.S. Constitution when they searched the defendant, Mr. Wright’s, backpack even after he repeatedly said no to the search requests. The ACLU alongside the ACLU of North Carolina filed an amicus brief arguing that the search was unconstitutional because Mr. Wright’s eventual “consent” was the result of police coercion. Our brief urges the court to consider the totality of the circumstances that make one more susceptible to coercion, including race and poverty. -
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Disability Rights
Incarceration Should Not be a Death Sentence for Individuals Who Use OpioidsIncarceration Should Not be a Death Sentence for Individuals Who Use Opioids
New litigation centered on increasing access to substance-use disorder treatment in jails and prisons is helping to reduce mortality rates among incarcerated individuals.