Fighting for the civil rights of prisoners

West v. Prince George’s County, Maryland, D. Md. 21-cv-863 (ongoing)

Gerstein Harrow client Jermall West was held illegally in jail for nearly two weeks after he posted bail, solely because he tested positive for COVID-19. We are fighting to vindicate West’s right to release on fair terms once he was legally entitled to be out of jail. We have recently secured a major victory when a federal court determined that West was held unconstitutionally. The only issue remaining is damages.

Last April, after West was held pending trial for a misdemeanor, someone posted bail amount on his behalf, entitling him to immediate release under Maryland law. But when he tested positive for COVID-19, the then–Director of the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections “decided to keep him in custody,” even though a state court had ordered him released. She did so after doing very little to secure his safe release: she heard that his family did not have a good place for him to quarantine, so she decided on her own that isolation in her jail for two weeks was an appropriate place for him.

This is not only unacceptable in a nation built on the rule of law; it also violates the Constitution, whether the Fourth Amendment (which prohibits unreasonable “seizures”), the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, or both. Under the Fourth Amendment, seizures that continue for an unreasonably long time without a judicial determination that probable cause exists to justify them are, under Supreme Court doctrine, “unreasonable.” E.g., County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44, 56 (1991). When West was ordered released by a judge but was instead jailed, he was “seized . . .unreasonabl[y].” Manuel v. City of Joliet, 137 S. Ct. 911, 917 (2017). His Due Process rights were also violated because, even if “an inmate’s initial confinement was justified by a constitutionally adequate basis, that confinement cannot constitutionally continue once that basis no longer exists.” Barnes v. District of Columbia, 793 F. Supp. 2d 260, 275 (D.D.C. 2011).

We won summary judgment on West’s behalf. The federal court ruled that the facts and law clearly entitle him to damages for the County’s unconstitutional conduct. The only remaining issue is how much he is owed in damages.

If you know of anyone who, like West, was held illegally, whether because of COVID or not, please contact us at hi@gerstein-harrow.com or 202-670-4809.

Key documents