{"id":741,"date":"2011-03-03T09:42:54","date_gmt":"2011-03-03T14:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www3.law.harvard.edu\/journals\/hlpr\/?p=741"},"modified":"2015-10-02T15:58:05","modified_gmt":"2015-10-02T15:58:05","slug":"ninth-circuit-reinstates-first-amendment-challenge-to-prohibitions-of-publications-for-inmates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/lpr\/2011\/03\/03\/ninth-circuit-reinstates-first-amendment-challenge-to-prohibitions-of-publications-for-inmates\/","title":{"rendered":"Ninth Circuit Reinstates First Amendment Challenge to Prohibitions of Publications for Inmates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"color: #505050\"><em>Michael Stephan<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #505050\">A recent Ninth Circuit\u00a0ruling is good news for free speech advocates and jail inmates who want to read a publication called Crime, Justice &amp; America (CJA). \u00a0The publication explores criminal justice issues relevant to inmates, such as\u00a0\u201dthe steps between a felony arrest and conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #505050\">In\u00a0<em><a style=\"font-style: inherit;color: #3f6dcf\" href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110629050038\/http:\/\/www.ca9.uscourts.gov\/datastore\/opinions\/2011\/02\/03\/09-15768.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Hrdlicka v. Reniff<\/a><\/em>, released in late January, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court\u2019s grant of summary judgment in favor of two California county jails who had refused to distribute unsolicited copies of CJA to inmates.\u00a0CJA had filed a\u00a0\u00a7 1983 action for injunctive relief against the counties, alleging that the jails\u2019 distribution policies violated the First Amendment. In response, the jails offered many reasons for their refusals to distribute unsolicited copies of CJA, including concerns that the publication could be used to start fires or hide contraband.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #505050\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #505050\">The Ninth Circuit held that genuine issues of material fact existed in the cases and that summary judgment for the counties was improper. The Ninth Circuit first observed that \u201cpublishers and inmates have a First Amendment interest in communicating with each other.\u201d\u00a0 Next, it applied a four-factor test outlined in\u00a0<em>Turner v. Safley<\/em>, 482 U.S. 78 (1987), to evaluate the reasonableness of the jails\u2019 limitations on freedom of speech.\u00a0 The appellate court declared, \u201c[W]e cannot determine as a matter of law that [the counties] have justified banning the unsolicited distribution of CJA to county jail inmates under the four-factor\u00a0<em>Turner<\/em>\u00a0test.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #505050\">However, this case is not over yet and it remains to be seen whether the jails\u2019 policies ultimately satisfy\u00a0<em>Turner<\/em>.\u00a0 The analysis\u00a0in the Ninth Circuit\u2019s opinion, however, seems to suggest that they won\u2019t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Stephan A recent Ninth Circuit\u00a0ruling is good news for free speech advocates and jail inmates who want to read 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