×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Ninth Circuit Says Arizona DOC Policy Cannot Be Used to Censor Prisoner’s Free Expression
by David Reutter
An Arizona prisoner’s civil rights claim is headed to trial in June 2023, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated it, saying his prison’s policy on material he is allowed cannot be applied inconsistently without trampling his First Amendment liberties.
…
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- New York Finding Closed Prisons a Tough Sell, by Chuck Sharman
- Ninth Circuit Says Arizona DOC Policy Cannot Be Used to Censor Prisoner’s Free Expression, by David Reutter
- “Night of Terror” in Indiana Jail Sees Detainees Assaulted by Fellow Prisoners Who Purchased Cell Keys From Guard, by Kevin Bliss
- Minnesota Supreme Court: Prisoner Abused with Overtight Handcuffs Need Only Show Deliberate Indifference, Not Malicious Intent, by Matthew Clarke
- Study Shows COVID-19 Drove Prison Death Rates 50% Higher, by Keith Sanders
- Wellpath Subsidiary Out of Australian Women’s Prison After Indigenous Prisoner’s Death, by Keith Sanders
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Releases Latest First Step Act Data, by Casey Bastian
- “Abdication of Responsibility”: Heads Roll in Tennessee DOC Over Botched Execution Protocols, by Kevin Bliss
- Federal Courts Throw Out Smart Communications’ Mail-Scanning Patent, by Robert Schaeffer
- $775,000 Paid for Mentally Ill California Jail Detainee Who Compulsively Drank Water Until He Died, by Casey Bastian
- Dying for Being Deadbeat Dad in Missouri Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Reveals Extent of Federal Pretrial Detention Crisis, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Requires Source-of-Funds Finding Before Allowing BOP to Raid Account of Federal Prisoner in Missouri, by David Reutter
- Arizona Prison Forcibly Induced Labor for Pregnant Prisoners, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Senators Rail at DOJ Failure to Report In-Custody Deaths, by Jayson Hawkins
- $17.675 Million Paid for New Yorker’s Wrongful Conviction, by Jacob Barrett
- Sixth Circuit: “Minimal Findings Necessary” Before Garnishing Funds From Federal Prisoner in Ohio, by Casey Bastian
- Prisoner Health Update: Tuberculosis, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Four Escape Troubled Mississippi Jail After Fifth Circuit Postpones Federal Receivership, by Keith Sanders
- U.S. Prisoner Numbers Slowly Declining, by Edward Lyon
- No Charges for Georgia Guards Who Allegedly Abetted Attack That Left Prisoner Dead, by Keith Sanders
- Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, by Harold Hempstead
- 70 Months for Former Warden of BOP ‘Rape Club’ in California, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Seventh Circuit Allows Illinois Prisoner to Prove Administrative Remedy Was “Unavailable” in Double-Celling Complaint, by David Reutter
- Illinois Makes Abortion Care Free for State Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Almost $42,500 Awarded to Illinois Prisoner for Denial of Physical Therapy by Wellpath Nurse, by Casey Bastian
- State Prison Systems Failing to Provide Meaningful Programming, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Greenlights Arkansas Execution Protocol, by Jacob Barrett
- Second Circuit Upholds Connecticut Prison Porn Ban, Sets Up Circuit Split Over “Vagueness” Test, by Jacob Barrett
- Louisiana Sheriff Coughs Up $2.75 Million After Falsely Claiming Detainee Died From Accidental Fall, by Jacob Barrett
- Nevada Pays Over $568,000 for Denying Prisoner Cataract Surgery, Ends “One Good Eye” Policy, by Jacob Barrett
- Four Michigan Jail Guards Guilty in Detainee Death, Family Paid $2.4 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Mississippi Sheriff Indicted for Bribery After Allegedly Allowing Detainee Rape at County Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
- $3,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Public Records, by David Reutter
- BOP Hits Back Hard After Federal Prisoner in Arizona Brandishes Gun, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- It’s Official: BOP Prisoners on Expanded COVID-19 Home Confinement Staying Put, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Prisoner Counselors STORMING California Prisons to Aid in Addiction Recovery, by Kevin Bliss
- Fifth South Carolina Prisoner Sentenced in “Sextortion” Scams Targeting Military Members, by Chuck Sharman
- Imprisoned Former Head of New York City Jails Guards’ Union Granted Release, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
- Chronic Punishment: The Unmet Health Needs of People in State Prisons, by Leah Wang
- Prisoners Caught in Ukraine War Crossfire, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Over $3.5 Million Paid to Incontinent Colorado Prisoner Offered Diapers Instead of Dining Priority Pass, by David Reutter
- Sing Sing Prisoners File Suit Against New York State Alleging Vicious Beating by Guards, by Keith Sanders
- No More Naps for Massachusetts Guards, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Eighth Circuit Lets Public Defender Withdraw from BOP Prisoner’s “Frivolous” Appeal, by Matthew Clarke
- Michigan Supreme Court Justice Caves to Criticism, Accepts Resignation of Formerly Incarcerated Clerk, by Kevin Bliss
- Massachusetts Settles One of Three Suits Alleging Retaliation by Prison Guards for Assault on One of Their Own, by Harold Hempstead
- “All Signals Blinking Red” at Federal Prison in West Virginia After DOJ Releases Report on Killing of Mobster “Whitey” Bulger, by Benjamin Tschirhart, Casey Bastian
- Eleventh Circuit Won’t Force Condemned Alabama Prisoner to Die by Method He Didn’t Choose, by David Reutter
- Corizon Bankruptcy Threatens $6.4 Million Award to Family of Michigan Prisoner Whose Five-Day Jail Term Turned Into Death Sentence, by Jacob Barrett
- California Easing Housing Hurdles for Released Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania Gets Sentence Reduction After Guard Rapes Her, by Casey Bastian
- Hawaii Guard One of Four Convicted in Smuggling Scheme at Honolulu Prison, by Chuck Sharman
More from David Reutter:
- 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
- Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Defendant Must Be Competent Before Undergoing Mental-Condition Examination Under § 16-8-107(3)(b), April 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal Announces Plea Agreements Cannot Bar § 1172.1 Resentencing, Holds Merit-Based Denial of Petition Is Appealable, April 1, 2026
- Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies That Failure to Object to Ineligible Juror Does Not Constitute Waiver Unless Party Knew or Could Have Discovered Ineligibility Through Ordinary Diligence, April 1, 2026
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Motion Judge Abused Discretion by Denying Evidentiary Hearing on IAC Claim Where Plea Counsel’s Affidavit Was Not Inherently Inconsistent With Colloquy Statements Regarding Immigration Advice, March 1, 2026
- Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Double Jeopardy Analysis for Multiple Assault Convictions, Holding That Assaultive Acts Occurring Over Short Time Period in Same Location Without Intervening Events Constitute Single Course of Conduct, March 1, 2026
- New Jersey Supreme Court Reverses Drug Convictions Under Cumulative Error Doctrine, Holding Combined Effect of Improper References to Television Series, Gun Violence, and Search Warrants Deprived Defendant of Fair Trial, March 1, 2026
- New York Court of Appeals Announces Coercive Police Tactics Compelling Suspect to Exit Home Constitute “Constructive Entry” Violating Payton, Holds Attenuation Analysis Applies to Third-Party Consent, March 1, 2026
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).
- 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.
- 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.
- HRDC Sues Minnesota DOC Over Censorship Policy, Feb. 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, HRDC Litigation.
- Arkansas Bans Outside Reading Material Sent to Prisons, Feb. 1, 2026. Reading Materials, Publications/Books, Banned Book Lists, Censorship, Securus.
- Class Certified in Challenge to Mailed Book Ban at Indianapolis Jail, Jan. 1, 2026. Class Certification, Publications/Books, Religious Practices, Protected Speech.
- HRDC Sues Washington Jail for Rejecting PLN and Other Publications, Jan. 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- HRDC Sues New Mexico County for Violating 10-Year-Old Settlement of Censorship Suit, Jan. 1, 2026. Settlements, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment.

