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Pennsylvania DOC’s New Mail Policy Robs Prisoners of the Personal Touch; Lawsuits Over Legal Mail Settle
by David M. Reutter
Last year the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) implemented a policy that prohibits prisoners from receiving original correspondence from their family members and friends. The policy went into effect in September 2018 in response to a 12-day statewide lockdown the prior month after an …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- DNA: To Collect or Not to Collect?, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Prisoner’s Excessive Heat Death Reveals Continuing Danger, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania DOC’s New Mail Policy Robs Prisoners of the Personal Touch; Lawsuits Over Legal Mail Settle, by David M. Reutter
- Right to Speedy Trial Not Triggered by Placement in Administrative Segregation, by David M. Reutter
- Court Grants Compassionate Release After BOP Says Prisoner Wasn’t Dying Fast Enough, by Dale Chappell
- GEO Group Cancels Contract to Run New Mexico Private Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Female Attorneys Denied Access to Clients at Missouri Jail Due to Bras, by Edward Lyon
- Colorado DOC Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Treat Thousands of Prisoners with HCV, by Dale Chappell
- Settlement in Class-Action Suit Over SMU Conditions at Georgia Prison, by David M. Reutter
- First Step Act Update: Over 1,600 Sentences Reduced, 3,000 Prisoners Released, by Dale Chappell, Douglas Ankney
- Sleeping Guard Who Allowed Suicidal Prisoner to Hang Himself Prompts $507,500 Settlement, by Dale Chappell
- Virginia Jail Not Responding to Problems Cited in Department of Justice Report, by Douglas Ankney
- Mississippi County Pays $27,500 to Settle Lawsuit by Prisoner “Jumped” by Other Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
- New York City May Expand Investment Bar to Prison Service Providers, by Kevin Bliss
- Former Missouri Sheriff Gets Prison Time for Illegal Cell Phone Tracking, by David M. Reutter
- Wisconsin Prisoner Sues After Injury; Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal, by Scott Grammer
- Oregon Faces State and Federal Contempt Proceedings Over Delayed Competency Services for Mentally Ill Defendants – Again, by Mark Wilson
- Dr. Arthur Zitrin, Anti-Death Penalty Advocate and Bioethicist, Dies at 101, by Scott Grammer
- Court Certifies Class of Former Washington State Prisoners Challenging Debit Release Cards in HRDC Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Jail Administrator, Guard Receive 55-Hour Sentence for Prisoner’s Death, by Scott Grammer
- Award in Massachusetts Prisoner’s ADA Case Includes Over $410,000 in Attorney Fees, Costs, by David M. Reutter
- DOJ Probe Finds Alabama Men’s Prisons Overcrowded, Plagued by Ongoing Violence, by David M. Reutter
- No Error When Judge Ignored Iowa Prisoner’s Request for Substitute Appointed Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida DOC Attorney Resigns After Posting Racially-Charged Comments, by David M. Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Holds Indiana’s Sex Offender Treatment Program Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- Rider Programs in Idaho Offer Prisoners a Second Chance, by Jayson Hawkins
- Permanent Injunction for Hepatitis C Treatment Entered for Florida Prisoners, by David M. Reutter
- Audit Determines Georgia’s State Prisons More Cost Effective than Private Prisons, by David M. Reutter
- Jackson, Mississippi Pays $300,000 to Settle Jail Wrongful Death Suit, by Dale Chappell
- Prisoner’s Activism Leads Colorado DOC to Reverse Ban on Greeting Cards, Postcards and Drawings, by Matthew Clarke
- Stormy Daniels’ Former Attorney Accused of Ripping Off Prisoner, Other Clients, by Edward Lyon
- Illinois Jail Guard Secretly Prosecuted for Assaulting Prisoner, by Scott Grammer
- Over $488,000 Awarded to Former Michigan Prison Warden in Retaliation Suit, by David M. Reutter
- Massachusetts Prisoners and Visitors Challenge Restrictive Visitation Rules, by Bill Barton
- Plans for a New Federal Prison on Coal Mine Site in Kentucky Withdrawn, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Pennsylvania Police Officer Shoots Unarmed Man in Holding Cell, is “Excused” by DA, by Scott Grammer
- Former Prisoner Named Secretary of Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, by Matthew Clarke
- “Feeling Cute” Social Media Challenge Reveals Brutality of Prison Guards, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Files FOIL Petition Against New York State Attorney General’s Office
- Michigan: $9,750 in Damages and Costs in Prison Ramadan Violation Suit, by David M. Reutter
- GEO Group Under Pressure from Shareholders on Human Rights Policy, by David M. Reutter, Kevin Bliss
- Arizona Prison Scandal: Cell Doors that Don’t Lock, Maintenance Funds Misused, by Matthew Clarke
- Maine: Female Detainee Raped by Jailer Wins Lawsuit, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Passes Laws to Preserve Dignity of Women Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Jails in Oregon and Washington State Have High Prisoner Death Rates, by Matthew Clarke, Mark Wilson
- Book Excerpt: Lessons of “The Birdman”, by Marc Mauer, Ashley Nellis
- Federal Court Dismisses GEO Group’s Defenses in Lawsuit Over Pay for Immigrant Detainees, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- When Going to Jail Means Giving Up the Meds that Saved Your Life, by Beth Schwartzapfel
- Opioid Epidemic Impacts Prisons and Jails, by Steve Horn
More from David M. Reutter:
- Louisiana Supreme Court Declares Unconstitutional Statute Stripping Courts of Authority to Order Payment of Indigent Defense Expert Funds, Holding the Law Infringes on Judiciary’s Constitutionally Granted Jurisdiction Over Felony Cases, July 1, 2026
- Oregon Supreme Court: Jail Credit Statute Focuses Upon Legal Custody Not Physical Custody Location, July 1, 2026
- Supreme Court of Maryland Holds Officer Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Based on Acquaintance’s Tip Reporting Innocent Conduct, Reaffirming That “High-Crime Area” Testimony Must Be Particularized, July 1, 2026
- Oregon Supreme Court Announces Witness Competency Under OEC 601 Depends on General Capacity to Be a Witness, Not Ability to Recall a Specific Fact, July 1, 2026
- Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Heightened Voluntariness Inquiry Required for Contingent Guilty Pleas and Holds Plea Withdrawal Is the Proper Remedy When District Court Fails to Probe Coercion Risk, June 1, 2026
- Florida Supreme Court Announces “Results” of Postconviction DNA Testing Under § 925.11 Include Underlying Testing Data Necessary for Expert Analysis, Holding That No Additional Burden Applies Once a Motion for Testing Has Been Granted, June 1, 2026
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Calling Known Recalcitrant Witness Before Jury Constitutes Reversible Error and Prosecutorial Misconduct Regardless of Whether Witness Expressly Invokes Fifth Amendment Privilege, Qualifying Contrary Precedent, June 1, 2026
- First Circuit Vacates Drug Courier’s Sentence, Holding District Court Erred by Failing to Conduct Proper Comparative Culpability Analysis Under § 3B1.2 When It Excluded Other Participants in Drug Shipment From Universe of Comparators, May 1, 2026
- $875,000 Award for Illinois Prisoner’s Delay in Getting Hernia Surgery, June 1, 2025
- California Appellate Court: Custody Credits Must be Applied to Concurrent Terms in Multiple Open Cases, June 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- 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).
- ICE Settles Suit Over Opening Detainees’ Legal Mail, April 1, 2026. Legal Mail, Attorney Visits, First Amendment, rights, Immigration Detention, Attorney/Client.
- 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.
- Mail Went Digital in Alabama Prisons. Families Are Saying Their Mail Isn’t Being Delivered, March 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, First Amendment, rights, Access To Courts, Access to Computers.
- Incarcerated Women Featured in True Crime Media Face Flood of Sexual Harassment, March 1, 2026. Sexual Harassment, Prison Labor, Hygiene Supplies, Mail, TV/Movies.
- Number of Narcan Doses Raises Drug Concerns at New Jersey Prisons, March 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Mail Regulations, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Censorship, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance.
- United States Postal Service Declares Postmarks Could Be Delayed, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Access To Courts.
- New Hampshire Guard Abuse and Theft Uncovered Through Poaching Investigation, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Legal Mail, Obstruction of Justice.
- Sixth Circuit Holds Dismissal Not Automatic When Plaintiff Simultaneously Files Same Claims in State Court, Aug. 1, 2025. Retaliation, Court Access, Grievances, Mail.

