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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- May 4, 2020
Featured
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Inmates suing the DC Department of Corrections over the response to COVID-19 lost a round in their lawsuit today.
District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled on May 1, that the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) will join the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG) as defendants in the case. The suit alleges that the DC Department of Corrections (DC DOC) wilfully disregarded inmate health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Defender’s Service on behalf of the inmates had argued against allowing the USAO to join, saying it was a local matter that did not involve the federal agency.
The OAG countered that the USAO should join because most of the inmates held by the DC DOC had been charged or convicted of federal crimes and were federal rather than D.C. prisoners.
According to the OAG, only 42 inmates out of the 1,442 inmates currently held at DC DOC facilities are there for local DC crimes.
A table offered by the Jail and Community Corrections System (JACCS) shows that the OAG only had authority over 2.9 percent of the inmates being held at DC DOC facilities on April 13.
According to the table:
- 864 inmates (59.9 percent) were held under the USAO’s authority,
- 278 (19.3 percent) held under Intergovernmental Agreements with the United States Marshals Service,
- 172 inmates (11.9 percent) held under the authority of the United States Parole Commission.
“If the Court is inclined to consider a reduction of the inmate population, or the release of inmates generally, the United States should be permitted to articulate and defend its interest in this action,” the motion states. “The absence of the United States as a party would ‘as a practical matter impair or impede the [United States’] ability to protect [its] interest’ in carrying out prosecutions from indictment to sentencing.”
A teleconference is scheduled for May 11 when two court-appointed inspectors will provide an update on conditions at the jail.