Jail administrators have many valid reasons to regulate incoming mail. These can include inmate safety concerns, potential security breaches, and staffing officers for screening the mail. However, people outside the jail also have a right to communicate with inmates in the jail. Balancing jail needs with this right can present challenges for jails. One such example is shown by the recent case Human Rights Defense Center v. Baxter County.
Case Overview
The Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) mailed several bundles of its books and magazines to inmates at a county jail. The inmates did not request these publications; HRDC sent the mailings on its own initiative. Inmates could not order HRDC’s books and magazines through an alternative method, and there was no electronic kiosk or “book cart” from which inmates could access any of their material.
The jail had a policy regulating all incoming mail to inmates. Except for privileged or legal mail, inmates could only receive postcards. So, the jail returned HRDC’s mailings. When HRDC received the returned mailings, it sued the jail under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, arguing that the jail’s postcard-only policy violated HRDC’s First Amendment right to communicate with inmates.
What the Court Said
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found the jail’s incoming mail policy violated HRDC’s constitutional rights. The court emphasized that the jail’s postcard-only policy was a de facto ban on all HRDC’s books or magazines. Moreover, there would have been a minor impact on the jail’s resources if it permitted HRDC to send its publications to the inmates because correctional officers only needed to shake the publications out to search them for contraband.
Why This Matters for Correctional Officers
This case underscores that although jail administrators have valid reasons for regulating incoming mail, those regulations need to be reasonable. De facto bans on incoming mail without any reasonable justification will not pass constitutional scrutiny. If screening particular mail did present an undue burden for correctional officers, then jail administrators may have a valid reason for regulating it. Alternative methods, such as electronic kiosks or tablets if available, may help alleviate these issues. Of course, jail administrators may always prohibit incoming mail if its content presents a security issue.
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