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$170.69 Settlement In WA Gift Book Censorship Suit
In 1998 Ricardo Garcia a prisoner at the Airway Heights Correctional
Center (AHCC) in Washington, received a mail rejection notice from the
AHCC mailroom for two books he had ordered from a vendor. Garcia had sent
out a $1.00 money order to the vendor, Books to Prisoners because they
informed him that AHCC required that prisoners pay for their books out of
their prisoner accounts. The mailroom sent him a mail rejection stating
that the books had not been purchased from his account. Garcia promptly
sent the mailroom a kite telling them not to destroy the books because he
was appealing the decision. Garcia appealed and Cly Evans, Administrative
Program Manager upheld the mailroom's decision and responded by stating
that $l was a realistic price for two books and that it should take about
seven months to receive the books. Garcia responded to the letter by Cly
Evans and cited policy AHCC 450.100, and pointed out that the policy does
not require that prisoners need to pay any specific amount for books or
that the books need to be received in any specific time frame. Cly Evans
responded by saying that Garcia had somehow acknowledged that he had sent
$1 as a token amount to circumvent AHCC mail policy. Garcia Filed a law
suit against the Department Of Corrections in 1999. The case was settled
in 2000. The gift subscription ban was held unconstitutional in Crofton v.
Roe, 170 F.3d 957 (9th Cir. 1999). PLN also filed suit on the matter in
Humanists of Washington v. Lehman, which was settled with the policy being
rescinded. See: Garcia v. Washington State Department Of Corrections, USDC
ED WA, Case No. CY-99-3047-AAM.
Center (AHCC) in Washington, received a mail rejection notice from the
AHCC mailroom for two books he had ordered from a vendor. Garcia had sent
out a $1.00 money order to the vendor, Books to Prisoners because they
informed him that AHCC required that prisoners pay for their books out of
their prisoner accounts. The mailroom sent him a mail rejection stating
that the books had not been purchased from his account. Garcia promptly
sent the mailroom a kite telling them not to destroy the books because he
was appealing the decision. Garcia appealed and Cly Evans, Administrative
Program Manager upheld the mailroom's decision and responded by stating
that $l was a realistic price for two books and that it should take about
seven months to receive the books. Garcia responded to the letter by Cly
Evans and cited policy AHCC 450.100, and pointed out that the policy does
not require that prisoners need to pay any specific amount for books or
that the books need to be received in any specific time frame. Cly Evans
responded by saying that Garcia had somehow acknowledged that he had sent
$1 as a token amount to circumvent AHCC mail policy. Garcia Filed a law
suit against the Department Of Corrections in 1999. The case was settled
in 2000. The gift subscription ban was held unconstitutional in Crofton v.
Roe, 170 F.3d 957 (9th Cir. 1999). PLN also filed suit on the matter in
Humanists of Washington v. Lehman, which was settled with the policy being
rescinded. See: Garcia v. Washington State Department Of Corrections, USDC
ED WA, Case No. CY-99-3047-AAM.
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Related legal case
Garcia v. Washington State Department of Correctio
| Year | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC ED WA, Case No. CY-99-3047-AAM. |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Attorney Fees | 0 |
| Damages | 171 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |
no case text