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Virginia Prison Policy Prohibiting Secular, Non-Religious CDs Held Unconstitutional
Loaded on Dec. 15, 2012
published in Prison Legal News
December, 2012, page 31
On February 7, 2012, a U.S. District Court held that a Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) policy prohibiting prisoners from purchasing or possessing secular spoken-word compact discs was unconstitutional. The court invalidated the policy but also granted qualified immunity to the defendant prison officials.Owen North, a friend of Virginia …
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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
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More from these topics:
- HRDC Wins Injunction Against Minnesota DOC Policy Banning Its Publications, Sept. 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
- HRDC Wins Injunction to Halt New Mexico Prison Censorship, July 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026. Reading Materials, Legal Materials, Publications/Books, Banned Book Lists, Censorship.
- Wisconsin Bans Recording of Prison Phone Calls with Journalists, July 1, 2026. Access to Media, Censorship, First Amendment, First Amendment, rights, Recorded Calls.
- Illinois Jail Reprimanded for Denying Detainees Mail Based on Media Content, P.O. Box Return Address, Settles Detainees’ Suit with $111,825 Payment of Legal Fees, May 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, HRDC Litigation.
- HRDC Sues Colorado Jail for Prohibiting Dozens of Magazines and Books, May 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, Constitution, state, HRDC Litigation.
- Like Prisoners, Most Jail Detainees Now Banned from Receiving Physical Mail, March 1, 2026. Jail Specific, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, Censorship, Digital Devices, Private Phone Contractors.
- Incarcerated Women Featured in True Crime Media Face Flood of Sexual Harassment, March 1, 2026. Sexual Harassment, Prison Labor, Hygiene Supplies, Mail, TV/Movies.

