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PLN Nazi Guard Censorship Suit Remanded for Injunctive Relief
The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit, in an unpublished opinion,
affirmed in part and reversed in part a Washington federal district court's
grant of summary judgment to Washington Department of Corrections officials
who censored the May, 1999, issue of Prison Legal News and a March, 1999
issue of the Seattle Weekly in all Washington prisons because it contained
an article, Black Guard, White Guard: Racism in Washington Continues, by
Jennifer Vogel, documenting racial discrimination against minority prison
employees and the employment of racist and white supremacist guards by the
Washington DOC. The DOC defendants claimed they censored the magazine
because nearly all of the racist guards identified in the article still
worked for the DOC. The appeals court affirmed the lower court ruling that
the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity from money damages as it
was not clearly established that censoring an article on this basis
violated the law. The court reversed and remanded for further consideration
the dismissal of plaintiffs' claims for declaratory and injunctive relief.
On remand, the district court against dismissed the case, which was again
appealed to the Ninth circuit. See: Prison Legal News v. Washington State
Department of Corrections, 2001 WL 283107 (9th Cir. 2001).
affirmed in part and reversed in part a Washington federal district court's
grant of summary judgment to Washington Department of Corrections officials
who censored the May, 1999, issue of Prison Legal News and a March, 1999
issue of the Seattle Weekly in all Washington prisons because it contained
an article, Black Guard, White Guard: Racism in Washington Continues, by
Jennifer Vogel, documenting racial discrimination against minority prison
employees and the employment of racist and white supremacist guards by the
Washington DOC. The DOC defendants claimed they censored the magazine
because nearly all of the racist guards identified in the article still
worked for the DOC. The appeals court affirmed the lower court ruling that
the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity from money damages as it
was not clearly established that censoring an article on this basis
violated the law. The court reversed and remanded for further consideration
the dismissal of plaintiffs' claims for declaratory and injunctive relief.
On remand, the district court against dismissed the case, which was again
appealed to the Ninth circuit. See: Prison Legal News v. Washington State
Department of Corrections, 2001 WL 283107 (9th Cir. 2001).
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Related legal case
Prison Legal News v. Washington State Department o
| Year | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2001 WL 283107 (9th Cir. 2001) |
| Level | Court of Appeals |
| Attorney Fees | 0 |
| Damages | 0 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |