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Fifth Circuit Holds Mailbox Rule Applies to Legal Mail Rejected Under Bogus Prison Rule
Loaded on Dec. 15, 2012
published in Prison Legal News
December, 2012, page 40
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that legal mail rejected by prison officials under a purported rule that does not exist is still entitled to the “mailbox rule.”Clifford Medley, a Texas state prisoner, tried to mail his federal habeas corpus petition to the U.S. district court about …
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More from this issue:
- Momentum Builds to End Prison-Based Gerrymandering, by Peter Wagner
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Oregon DOC Gets Tiny Cut of $3.34 Million Pfizer Settlement
- CCA Ceases Operations at Mississippi Prison, County Jail
- Florida DOC Program Targets Incarcerated Veterans
- PLN Settles Public Records Suit Against PHS in Vermont, Obtains Settlement Payout Information, by Alex Friedmann
- Washington Jail Prisoner Settles Retaliation Claim for $10,000
- Transgender Prisoner’s Lawsuit Sparks BOP Policy Change, by Derek Gilna
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Former Texas State Judge’s Bribery-Related Convictions
- States Create Special Commissions to Study Flat-Fee Indigent Defense, by Joe Watson
- GAO Report Examines Contraband Cell Phone Use in BOP Facilities, by Derek Gilna
- Former New York DOCS Food Director Pleads Guilty to Grand Larceny, by Joe Watson
- Texas Slashes Prison Education Budget, by Matthew Clarke
- Misconduct at U.S. Army Lab Taints Hundreds of Military Prosecutions, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon DOC Did Not Report 78 Prisoner Deaths in 2010-2011
- Virginia Prison Policy Prohibiting Secular, Non-Religious CDs Held Unconstitutional
- America Eats its Young: Arizona Communities Embrace Use of Private Prison Employees in Drug Raids at Public Schools, by Beau Hodai
- Report Criticizes New Hampshire’s Treatment of Female Prisoners; Lawsuit Filed, by Joe Watson
- Fifth Circuit Reverses $250,000 Award to Mississippi Prisoner Held too Long, by Matthew Clarke
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Calls Federal Mandatory Minimums “Excessively Severe”, by Derek Gilna
- Arkansas Prison Director Suspended by Board of Corrections
- Texas Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Prohibiting Sex Offender Parole Conditions; Case Settles for $52,000, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Court Upholds Maryland Law that Reclassifies Prisoners for Redistricting, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Holds Mailbox Rule Applies to Legal Mail Rejected Under Bogus Prison Rule
- New North Carolina DOC Hospital Promises Better Healthcare for Prisoners, by Joe Watson
- Michigan DOC Taser Experiment Touted; Prison Perimeter Patrols to End
- Missouri County Ordered to Present Civil Detainees Before Court within 27 Hours; $75,000 Damages Settlement
- Organizations Submit Letters to FCC Urging Action on Prison Phone Rates, by Mel Motel
- West Memphis Three Released, but Justice Not Served and Questions Remain, by Joe Watson
- Oregon Re-Sells Unused Execution Drugs
- Philadelphia Women Prisoners Sue for Being Housed with a Man
- California: Jail Nurse Receives $703,957 in Retaliation Suit Against County, PHS
- Puerto Rico DOC Fires 97 Guards, Suspends More Than 100
- News in Brief
More from these topics:
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant.
- SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, March 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Predicate Acts/Offenses.
- SCOTUS Announces Federal Prisoners May Seek Certiorari Review of Authorization Denials Under § 2255(h) and Are Not Subject to § 2244(b)(1)’s Bar on Previously Presented Claims, Feb. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, Jan. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Summary Judgment, Limitations, Municipal Liability, Criminal Sexual Abuse.
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Courts Have Inherent Authority to Correct Unauthorized Sentences at Any Time Without Habeas Petition, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Authorized, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Effect of Vacatur.
- First Circuit Announces Modification of Juvenile’s Life-Without-Parole Sentence to Parole-Eligible Life Term Constitutes “New Judgment” Under AEDPA, Exempting Second-in-Time Habeas Petition From Gatekeeping Requirements, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole, Habeas Corpus, Life without Parole (LWOP), AEDPA, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Division of Correction Must Immediately Apply Time-Served Credit Against Valid Sentences When Convictions Are Vacated and May Not Toll Execution Pending Reprosecution; New Sentences Arising From New Convictions Take, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Effect of Vacatur, Credits, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
- Alabama Supreme Court Denies DOC’s Improper Venue Objection, Jan. 1, 2026. Defenses, Good Time, Habeas Corpus, Failure to Object, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Ninth Circuit Grants Equitable Tolling Under AEDPA Where Attorney Abandoned Prisoner by Failing to Communicate for Nine Months and Prison Officials Delayed Processing Filing Documents, Dec. 15, 2025. Attorney Misconduct, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Limitations, AEDPA.
- DOJ Leaves Louisiana Over-Detention Suit on Life Support, Two Others Granted Class-Action Status, Dec. 1, 2025. Class Certification, Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Unlawful Detention.

