IN THE MATTER OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS' EXECUTION PROTOCOL CASES, No. 1:2019mc00145 - Document 204 (D.D.C. 2020)

Court Description: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION re 196 Plaintiff KEITH NELSON's Emergency MOTION for Entry of Final Judgment. Signed by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on 8/20/2020. (DJS)

Download PDF
IN THE MATTER OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS' EXECUTION PROTOCOL CASES Doc. 204 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA In the Matter of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Execution Protocol Cases, LEAD CASE: Roane, et al. v. Barr THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: ALL CASES ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 19-mc-145 (TSC) MEMORANDUM OPINION Before the court is Plaintiff Keith Nelson’s Emergency Motion for Entry of Partial Final Judgment. (ECF No. 196.) Given the court’s August 15, 2020 order (ECF No. 193; see also ECF Nos. 135, 136), dismissing Count II (Eighth Amendment) of the Amended Complaint as to all Plaintiffs except Norris Holder, 1 Nelson asks the court to enter judgment in his case as to Count II. Recognizing that the court’s dismissal applies to all plaintiffs except Holder, the Defendants consent to the motion insofar as the court enters final judgment on Count II as to the remaining Plaintiffs. (See ECF No. 198.) In light of the Government’s position, this court issued a show cause order, (8/18/2020 Min. Order), directing all Plaintiffs, with the exception of Holder, to file any objection by 5:00 p.m. on August 19, 2020, to entry of final judgment in their cases. Several plaintiffs filed notices indicating they did not object, (see ECF Nos. 202, 203), but no objections were filed. 1 Holder has epilepsy and is taking medication he alleges will “affect the way he metabolizes pentobarbital,” (ECF No. 186, Holder Suppl. Br. at 3). Therefore, his Eighth Amendment challenge to the execution protocol is unlike that of the remaining Plaintiffs. 1 Dockets.Justia.com In the absence of any objection and because the court finds there is no just reason to delay entry of judgment, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b), by separate order the court will grant Nelson’s motion, (ECF No. 196), except that the court will enter judgment as to the Eighth Amendment claims brought by all plaintiffs, excluding Holder. Date: August 20, 2020 Tanya S. Chutkan TANYA S. CHUTKAN United States District Judge 2

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.