The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
______________________________
:
GEORGE B. SMITH, :
:
Petitioner, : Civ. No. 20-11052 (NLH)
:
v. : MEMORANDUM ORDER
:
:
WARDEN EUGENE CALDWELL,1 :
:
Respondent. :
______________________________:
APPEARANCE:
George B. Smith
32448
Cumberland County Correctional Facility
54 W Broad St.
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Petitioner Pro se
Jennifer Webb-McRae, Cumberland County Prosecutor
Andre R. Araujo, Assistant Prosecutor
Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office
115 Vine St.
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Attorneys for Respondent
1 The default rule is that the proper respondent of a § 2241
petition is the warden of the facility where the prisoner is
being held. Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 435 (2004).
Subsequent to the filing of this petition, Eugene Caldwell was
appointed to the position as Warden of the Cumberland County
Jail. The Court will direct the Clerk to substitute Eugene
Caldwell as the Warden on the docket. Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d).
HILLMAN, District Judge
WHEREAS, Petitioner George Smith filed a petition for writ
of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his pretrial
detention in the Cumberland County Jail, see ECF No. 1; and
WHEREAS, Petitioner alleged the conditions of confinement
violate the Fourteenth and Eighth Amendment of the Constitution
due to the jail’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, id.; and
WHEREAS, the Court stayed the petition pending the
resolution of a class action, Brown v. Warren, No. 1:20-cv-7907,
involving the same factual and legal issues as the present
habeas petition, ECF No. 7; and
WHEREAS, the Court expects the parties in Brown to enter
into an amended consent decree,
THEREFORE, IT IS on this 19th day of January , 2022
ORDERED that the Clerk shall lift the stay on this matter
and return the case to the Court’s active docket; and it is
further
ORDERED that the Clerk shall substitute Eugene Caldwell as
the Warden on the docket, Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d); and it is
further
ORDERED that Petitioner shall submit a supplemental brief
in support of the § 2241 petition within 30 days of this Order.
Respondent shall file a supplemental response within 21 days of
Petitioner’s submission; and it is finally
ORDERED that the Clerk shall send a copy of this Order to
Petitioner by regular mail.
s/ Noel L. Hillman
At Camden, New Jersey NOEL L. HILLMAN, U.S.D.J.