Hernandez Aguilar v. Decker
- George Daniels
- 1:20-cv-04172
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Hernandez Aguilar v. Decker, Judge Daniels considered the government’s requests to expand its brief and seal medical records, but the provided text does not show the ruling.
The ruling concerns the government’s requested briefing-page enlargement and proposed sealing of Miguel Hernandez Aguilar’s medical records in his detention challenge.
What happened
Miguel Hernandez Aguilar brought a detention challenge under a federal law allowing people in immigration detention to ask a court to review that detention. The government said its response was due June 19, 2020, and asked to increase its brief from 25 to 45 pages so it could address the petition and related emergency motion together.
The government also asked to file Hernandez Aguilar’s medical records under seal, citing the privacy interests associated with medical information. Hernandez Aguilar’s lawyer consented to both requests. The text also describes Hernandez Aguilar’s claims that his detention violated due process because of COVID-19 risks and because he had been held for more than eleven months without a bond hearing.
The provided text bears a “SO ORDERED” notation signed by Judge George B. Daniels, but it does not clearly state whether he granted or denied either request. Accordingly, the specific ruling cannot be determined from the text provided.
The detailed version
- Hernandez Aguilar v. Decker · No. 1:20-cv-04172
- George Daniels
- June 11, 2020
Background
The government filed a letter concerning Miguel Hernandez Aguilar’s petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a federal law permitting a person in detention to challenge the legality of that detention. The letter states that Hernandez Aguilar was held in civil immigration detention at the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, New York.
The letter describes two claims in the petition. First, Hernandez Aguilar alleged that continued detention violated his substantive due-process rights because officials allegedly failed to protect him adequately from COVID-19, given his reported history of smoking since 2016 and obesity. Second, he alleged that detention for more than eleven months without a bond hearing violated procedural due process. He also filed an emergency motion seeking immediate release or, alternatively, a bond hearing while the petition was pending.
Requests
The government requested permission to file a 45-page opposition brief instead of the 25-page limit in the judge’s individual rules. It said the longer brief was needed to address the 32-page petition, the 15-page memorandum supporting the emergency motion, eight exhibits, Hernandez Aguilar’s prior immigration proceedings, and the COVID-19 measures at the detention facility. The government also sought permission to file Hernandez Aguilar’s medical records under seal, citing the privacy interests associated with medical records. The letter states that Hernandez Aguilar’s counsel consented to both requests.
Ruling
The provided text includes a “SO ORDERED” notation and a signature by Judge George B. Daniels, but it does not contain a legible or express statement granting, denying, or otherwise resolving either request. The specific disposition therefore cannot be determined from the supplied text.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.