Saillant v. Hoover

454 F.Supp.3d 465

Jhensy SAILLANT, Petitioner,

v.Angela HOOVER, et al., Respondents.

Civil No. 1:20-CV-00609

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.

Signed April 16, 2020

Jhensy Saillant, McElhattan, PA, pro se.

JoAnne M. Sanderson, Joseph Terz, U.S. Attorney's Office, Harrisburg, PA, for Respondents.

MEMORANDUM

JENNIFER P. WILSON, United States District Court Judge

This is a habeas corpus case under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 in which an immigration detainee seeks his release from custody based on the global COVID-19 pandemic. For the reasons that follow, the petition for writ of habeas corpus is denied to the extent that it seeks habeas corpus relief based on the pandemic.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus.

Coronavirus , WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION , https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 (last visited Apr. 14, 2020). The first reported cases of COVID-19 occurred in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. See Coronavirus Disease 2019: Situation Summary , CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (updated Apr. 7, 2020), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html. Since that time, the coronavirus has grown exponentially and become a global pandemic, with 213 countries reporting confirmed cases of the disease. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic , WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION , https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 (last visited Apr. 16, 2020). At the time of this writing, there were 1,954,724 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world, including 126,140 confirmed deaths. Id. The United States has become a particular hot spot for the disease, with 604,070 confirmed cases, and 25,871 deaths as of the time of this writing. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard , WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION , https://covid19.who.int/ (last visited Apr. 16, 2020).

Although most people who become sick from COVID-19 develop only mild or moderate respiratory symptoms and recover with no medical intervention, a minority of cases lead to serious illness that can result in hospitalization or death. Q&A on Coronavirus (COVID-19): What Are the Symptoms of Coronavirus , WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION , https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses (last visited Apr. 14, 2020). COVID-19 affects people of all demographics, but some populations—most notably elderly individuals and individuals with preexisting medical conditions—are more susceptible to developing serious cases of the disease than others. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Groups at Higher Risk for Severe Illness , CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION , https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-at-higher-risk.html (last visited Apr. 14, 2020).

At the time of this writing, there is no vaccine for COVID-19, and no antiviral medications have proven effective in treating the disease. Q&A on Coronavirus (COVID-19):Are There Any Medicines or Therapies that Can Prevent or Cure COVID-19? , WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION , https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses (last visited Apr. 14, 2020). In the absence of such solutions, governments have turned to non-medical interventions to try to slow the spread of the disease, including school closures, restrictions on businesses and large gatherings, stay-at-home orders, and "social distancing" policies. See, e.g. , Social Distancing, Quarantine, and Isolation , CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION , https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html. In line with those policies, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has issued a mandatory stay-at-home order for all individuals in the commonwealth and has closed all schools, among other measures to combat the disease. See Order of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for Individuals to Stay at Home (Apr. 1, 2020), https://www.governor.pa.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/20200401-GOV-Statewide-Stay-at-Home-Order.pdf; Governor Wolf Announces Closure of Pennsylvania Schools , GOVERNOR TOM WOLF (Mar. 13, 2020), https://www.governor. pa.gov/newsroom/governor-wolf-announces-closure-of-pennsylvania-schools/.

It is against this backdrop that Petitioner Jhensy Saillant ("Saillant") seeks a writ of habeas corpus. Saillant is a native and citizen of Haiti who was admitted into the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2011. (Doc. 1 at 2.) In 2015, the Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings after he was convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. (Id. ; Doc. 3 at 13.)¹ Saillant is currently detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") in the Clinton County Correctional Facility ("CCCF") pending his removal from the country. (Doc. 1 at 7, 17.)

Saillant filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus on April 13, 2020. (Id. ) Saillant asserts that his continued detention is unconstitutional because CCCF has not implemented adequate policies to contain the spread of COVID-19 and because the physical space of CCCF is inadequate to contain the disease. (Id. at 7.) As a result, Saillant feels "like he is in death-row." (Id. ) Saillant's petition alleges that CCCF has an insufficient number of medical personnel and that those personnel are not adequately trained to combat the disease. (Doc. 1 at 7.) He alleges that CCCF has not implemented proper preventive measures and that it is unable to do so because CCCF has inadequate physical spaces. (Id. ) Saillant alleges that he and the other individuals detained in CCCF are housed together in two-person cells, that they must eat meals in groups of 30 or more, and that they are housed in a small dormitory that houses 72 individuals. (Id. at 7–8.) Saillant further alleges that the communal spaces in CCCF are not regularly disinfected. (Id. at 9.) Saillant alleges that these circumstances increase his risk of contracting COVID-19. (Id. at 8–10.) Notably, Saillant does not allege that he has contracted COVID-19, he does not allege that he has experienced any symptoms consistent with COVID-19, he does not allege that he has any preexisting condition that makes him more vulnerable to COVID-19, and he does not allege that he has had contact with any individual who has COVID-19. (See generally id. )

Because the court construed Saillant's petition as seeking emergency relief, the court immediately set an expedited briefing schedule upon receiving the petition, requiring the Respondents to file a response no later than 3:00 p.m. on the following day. (Doc. 2.) Respondents timely filed their response on April 14, 2020. (Doc. 3.) Respondents first argue that the court may not issue a writ of habeas corpus in this case because a challenge to a petitioner's conditions of confinement is not a cognizable claim in a habeas corpus proceeding. (Id. at 14–15.) Respondents then argue that, even if the habeas corpus claim is allowed to proceed, release from confinement is still not an appropriate remedy for Saillant's claims. (Id. at 15–17.) Respondents further argue that Saillant's constitutional claims challenging his confinement fail on their merits. (Id. at 17–30.) Finally, Respondents argue that if release is granted, the court should impose conditions on Saillant's release. (Id. at 30–31.)

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A United States district court may issue a writ of habeas corpus when a petitioner "is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3).

ANGELA HOOVER IS THE ONLY PROPER RESPONDENT

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2243, a writ of habeas corpus must be directed to the petitioner's custodian. The warden of the prison where a petitioner is held is considered the petitioner's custodian for purposes of a habeas corpus action. Rumsfeld v. Padilla , 542 U.S. 426, 435, 124 S.Ct. 2711, 159 L.Ed.2d 513 (2004). Accordingly, Respondent Angela Hoover, the warden of CCCF, is the only proper respondent to this action. Respondents Simona Flores, L. Francis Cissna, and William Barr are therefore dismissed from this action.

DISCUSSION

A. Saillant's Claims Are Cognizable in a Habeas Corpus Petition

The court will first address Respondents' argument that Saillant's claims should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because they are not cognizable in a habeas corpus petition. (Doc. 3 at 14–15.) According to the Respondents, a habeas corpus petition may only challenge the validity or length of a petitioner's detention, while challenges to the conditions of a petitioner's confinement are properly brought as civil rights actions. (Id. )

Although neither the Supreme Court nor the Third Circuit has precisely defined the circumstances in which a petitioner may challenge the conditions of his confinement through a petition for writ of habeas corpus, the Third Circuit has indicated that a challenge to the conditions of confinement is cognizable in a habeas corpus claim "in extreme cases." Ali v. Gibson , 572 F.2d 971, 975 n.8 (3d Cir. 1978).

The court agrees with the conclusion of Chief United States District Judge Christopher C. Conner that a claim based on the COVID-19 pandemic is exactly the sort of "extreme case" contemplated in Ali . See Verma v. Doll , No. 4:20-CV-00014, 2020 WL 1814149, at *4 (M.D. Pa. Apr. 9, 2020) ; Camacho Lopez v. Lowe , No. 3:20-CV-00563, 452 F.Supp.3d 150, –––– – ––––, 2020 WL 1689874, at *5–6 (M.D. Pa. Apr. 7, 2020). Respondents acknowledge that Chief Judge Conner reached such a conclusion in Camacho Lopez , but argue that it would be error to apply the same reasoning to this case because Chief Judge Conner's reasoning was limited to the specific facts of Camacho Lopez , in which the petitioner sought habeas corpus relief after being diagnosed with COVID-19. (Doc. 3 at 15 n.3.) Respondents' argument is undercut by Chief Judge Conner's subsequent decision in Verma , however, where the court concluded that the facts of that case—which, like the...