Statement Regarding State Court Dismissal of Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers et al v Lamont et al

A state court judge late last night dismissed the lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Connecticut on behalf of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (CCDLA) and six people who are incarcerated seeking emergency action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by reducing the number of people who are incarcerated in Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) prisons and jails.

"Our hearts go out to the loved ones of incarcerated people, whom the state continues to put in harm’s way from COVID-19. We will not stop fighting, and we are using every tool at our disposal to require Governor Lamont and Commissioner Cook to fulfill their constitutional and moral obligation to protect incarcerated people from COVID-19," said Dan Barrett, ACLU of Connecticut legal director and an attorney on the case.

"While we are disappointed by this cruel decision in the state court, which runs contrary to guidance from other courts across the country, our federal class action lawsuit on behalf of all people incarcerated in state prisons and jails continues," said David McGuire, ACLU of Connecticut executive director.

Representing the CCDLA and incarcerated people in the case were Barrett, ACLU of Connecticut staff attorney Elana Bildner, Hope Metcalf from Yale Law School's Allard K. Lowenstein Int’l Human Rights Clinic, Miriam Gohara from Yale Law School's Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization, and Marisol Orihuela from Yale Law School's Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization.

For additional information about Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association at al v Lamont et al: https://www.acluct.org/en/cases/connecticut-criminal-defense-lawyers-association-et-al-v-lamont-and-cook