Susman Godfrey has partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, Civil Rights Corps, and the Next Generation Action Network Legal Advocacy Fund to bring a federal class-action lawsuit for emergency relief to remedy the Dallas County Jail’s ongoing failure to manage the extraordinary risks COVID-19 poses to its detainees, staff, and the larger community.
As of April 9, Dallas County reported that 29 detainees tested positive for COVID-19, up from 23 the day before. The spreading outbreak of COVID-19 in the Jail not only endangers the health and lives of detainees but also further stresses the limited healthcare resources available for the community at large.
Partner Barry Barnett is leading Susman Godfrey’s efforts on this case. Along with the firm’s Co-Managing Partner Neal Manne in Houston, Partner Michael Gervais in Los Angeles, and Associate Rakim Brooks in New York, the team is working on this matter pro bono and, together with their co-counsel, are requesting the appointment of a public health expert to organize an essential decarceration plan so that the jail can operate safely in these extraordinary times. You can read more about the case in The Dallas Morning News.
