COVID-19 Summary: This case was an emergency petition brought on behalf of criminal justice, juvenile justice, and criminal defense member organizations to challenge the conditions of incarceration in light of COVID-19 in California correctional facilities. The petitioners sought a release order to reduce the number of individuals incarcerated so facilities could better comply with public health guidelines. The court denied the petition without prejudice on May 4, 2020.

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On April 24, 2020, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, and the Youth Justice Coalition started this case by filing a petition in the California Supreme Court. The petitioners--member organizations composed of system-involved individuals and attorneys representing detained clients--sued California’s governor and attorney general under state law. The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU and private counsel, sought emergency and declaratory relief, claiming violations of the Eighth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause, and the California state constitution. Specifically, the petitioners alleged that California had not sufficiently acted to protect the health of California residents in jails and juvenile facilities from COVID-19 and that correctional facilities lacked infrastructure for physical distancing and adequate hygiene. They sought an order to release detained individuals such that facilities could create conditions consistent with public health guidance to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

On April 28, 2020 the state filed their preliminary opposition. The state contended that local officials in charge of their respective facilities had the duty to remedy any violations and that trial courts were better suited to resolve the factual issues raised in the petition. On April 30, the petitioners filed their reply.

On May 4, 2020 the California Supreme Court denied the petition without prejudice to future actions raising similar claims against these respondents in county superior courts. 2020 Cal. LEXIS 3096. In its reasoning, the court found that the petition sought remedies that involved a wide range of local conditions. According to the court, petitioners’ concerns invoked local responsibility for addressing facilities’ conditions. The order urged California superior courts to proceed rapidly to adequately respond to COVID-19. The case concluded.

Lily Sawyer-Kaplan - 06/14/2020


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