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BOP Agrees to Pay $90,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Costs in Suit Over Constitutionality of Byline Regulation

BOP Agrees to Pay $90,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Costs in Suit Over Constitutionality of Byline Regulation

On December 17, 2007, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) agreed to pay $90,000 in attorney’s fees and expenses after losing a suit over the constitutionality of its byline regulation.

As previously reported by PLN, Mark Jordan, a prisoner at ADX Florence, the so-called “Supermax” of the federal prison system, sued the BOP, alleging that its prohibition on prisoners publishing under a byline violated the First Amendment. Following a bunch trial, the court entered judgment in Jordan’s favor and enjoined the BOP from punishing any other prisoner who published under a byline.

Thereafter, BOP moved to alter or amend the court’s judgment arguing that the scope of the court’s injunction was too broad. According to the BOP, the court should have limited its injunction to only Jordan. The court disagreed.

Jordan presented a facial overbreadth challenge to the byline regulation. Under such circumstances, it was proper to enter a nationwide injunction prohibiting application of the byline rule to any prisoner, the court explained.

After denial of its motion to alter or amend, BOP agreed to pay $90,000 in attorney’s fees and expenses to Jordan’s counsel, the Students Law Office of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. See: Jordan v. Pugh, No. 02-CV-01239-MSK-KLM (D.CO.2008).

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Related legal case

Jordan v. Pugh