Skip navigation
Prison Legal News

Ohio Sued by Non-Profit Law Firm 
for Opening Prisoner Legal Mail

Loaded on July 15, 2025 published in Prison Legal News July, 2025, page 59
Filed under: Attorney Client, Legal Materials, Attorney Calls, Legal Mail. Location: Ohio.

On May 6, 2025, the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, a non-profit law firm, filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (DRC) over the practice of intercepting mail between prisoners and their attorneys. The practice, which is called the “Legal Mail Policy Variance,” was intended to intercept drugs and other contraband from being brought into facilities. It requires prison staff to make a photocopy of legal mail in front of the prisoner and—after handing them the copy or delivering it to their tablets—shred the original. This policy was introduced to four of the 28 DRC prisons across Ohio in 2024: the Southern Ohio, Marion, Lebanon, and Ross correctional institutions. 

The Ohio Justice and Policy Center contends that it often receives mail from prisoners which includes allegations against specific guards, and that opening and reading this mail could result in retaliation. “[This policy] opens the door for private correspondence to be viewed with total disregard for our client’s civil rights and First Amendment rights,” said Gabe Davis, the firm’s chief executive officer. “We are suing the department because this has to stop now.” According to state data, of the known sources for how drugs enter prisons in Ohio, legal mail only accounts for 1.3% of all seizures.   

 

Sources: Columbus Dispatch, NBC4/WCMH

More from this issue:

  1. Class-Action Suit at BOP “Rape Club” in California Settled for Record $116 Million
  2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  3. Free Calls in Massachusetts Lead to 
Defunded Prison Programs
  4. 14th Alabama Sheriff’s Employee Pleads Guilty 
in Jail Detainee’s Death by Freezing
  5. $12 Million for Former California Prisoner 
Exonerated After 17 Years
  6. $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner 
Whose Baby Was Stillborn, by Douglas Ankney
  7. Latest Jail Booking Info Is Based on New Data Source
  8. JPay Loses Bid to Revoke Class Certification in Washington Prisoners’ Challenge to Crummy Products and Service
  9. Over One-Third of Older Texas Prisoners 
Suffering Cognitive Impairment, by Matthew Clarke
  10. Trump Pardons Virginia Sheriff Convicted 
of a Bribes-for-Badges Scheme
  11. New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing 
for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, by Douglas Ankney
  12. Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages 
for Future Lost Income More Easily, by David Reutter
  13. Bold New Orleans Escape Calls Attention 
to Poor Jail Conditions
  14. D.C. District Court Dismisses Class Action Against BOP 
Over Earned Sentence Credits
  15. Sixth Guard Sentenced in West Virginia Killing 
of Pretrial Detainee
  16. Nearly $60,000 Awarded to Mother Of Dead Missouri Prisoner 
In Suit For His DOC Records, by Anthony Accurso
  17. Gag Order on Tennessee Attorney for Criticizing CoreCivic 
Lifted by Judge
  18. New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, by Douglas Ankney
  19. Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference 
Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim 
for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, by Douglas Ankney
  20. Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Arizona Challenge 
to Private Prisons
  21. Wiccan Nevada Prisoner Wins 18-Year Fight for Religious Items, by Clark Nelly
  22. Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP
  23. California Prison Plagued by Toxic Water and Chronic Illness
  24. $22.5 Million Verdict Arrives Too Late for 
Wrongfully Convicted Illinois Prisoner, by David Reutter
  25. Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance 
in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, by Douglas Ankney
  26. First Circuit Revives Rhode Island Prisoner’s 
Excessive Force Claim Against Guard, by David Reutter
  27. $42,000 Paid to Wisconsin Prisoner Allowed 
to Harm Himself While Under Observation, by Anthony Accurso
  28. Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose 
Records of Private Contractors, by Douglas Ankney
  29. Ongoing Detainee Deaths Push Rikers Island 
into Federal Court Receivership, by Anthony Accurso
  30. Trump’s “Border Czar” Was 
on GEO Group Payroll
  31. Colorado Passes New Law to Expand 
Prisoner Visitation Rights
  32. First Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Maine Guards who Ogled Prisoner During Childbirth, by David Reutter
  33. DHS Removed Sanctuary Cities List After Complaint 
from Sheriff’s Association
  34. Massachusetts High Schooler Detained by ICE 
Caught in “Collateral Arrest”
  35. Lawsuits Filed After Fatal Assault on 
Elderly Prisoner at Kentucky Jail
  36. Tennessee Board of Parole Spanked for Failing to Make Recommendation to Governor on Prisoner’s Clemency Application
  37. New Hampshire Rolls Back Bail Reform
  38. Arkansas Ex-Police Chief Known as “Devil in the Ozarks” 
Re-Captured After Prison Escape
  39. Preliminary Injunction Issued Against Milwaukee Jail’s 
Mail Policy in HRDC Suit
  40. First of 10 Guards Charged with Killing 
of New York Prisoner Pleads Guilty
  41. Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission 
Amended Compassionate Release Policy, by Douglas Ankney
  42. Former Death Row Prisoner Whose Case 
Changed the Law Dies in Texas
  43. $250,000 Verdict for South Carolina Prisoner Pepper-Sprayed 
in Face Without Cause by Guard, by David Reutter
  44. A Colorado Jail Has Banned In-Person Visits Since the Pandemic
  45. Wisconsin Robbery Suspect Frames Immigrant Detainee with Forged Letters Threatening to Kill Trump
  46. Eighth Circuit Affirms Judgment for HRDC 
in Arkansas Jail Censorship Suit, by David Reutter
  47. Florida Sheriff Charged in Connection with Massive $21 Million Gambling Ring
  48. Former New Jersey Jailers Plead Guilty 
to Beating Detainee for Tossing Urine
  49. South Carolina Prisoners Granted Class-Action Status in Suit 
Over Low Wages in Prison Industries Jobs, by Douglas Ankney
  50. $550,000 Settlement After Juvenile’s Suicide at Charlotte Jail, by David Reutter
  51. Seventh Circuit Revives Former Illinois Prisoner’s Claim 
for Delayed Hepatitis-C Treatment, by David Reutter
  52. Guards Used “Blast Grenades” to Break Up Mob Attack 
in California Prison
  53. The Dangerous Practice of Late-Night Jail Releases, by Anthony Accurso
  54. Hyundai Parts Supplier Stops Using Prison Slave Labor in Alabama
  55. Sixth Circuit: Michigan Tolling Statute Applies to PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Requirement, by David Reutter
  56. $1.6 Million Class-Action Settlement 
for Virginia Prisoners Subjected 
to Delayed Release
  57. Trans BOP Prisoners Win Restraining Order Preventing Transfer to Men’s Prison, Discontinuation of Hormone Therapy Medication, by David Reutter
  58. Solving the Carceral Understaffing Crisis: 
What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why
  59. Nearly $2.6 Million Paid to Former Minnesota Jail Detainee 
for Injuries from Delayed Withdrawal Treatment, by David Reutter
  60. Ohio Sued by Non-Profit Law Firm 
for Opening Prisoner Legal Mail
  61. Alabama’s Oldest Prisoner Dies in Hospital
  62. Percentage Of Prisoners Serving Life Without Parole Is Up 
Despite Overall Decrease in Prison Population, by Anthony Accurso
  63. Kentucky Supreme Court Voids Prisoner’s $10,972 Jail Fee, by David Reutter
  64. $95,000 in Settlements for Illinois Prisoners Retaliated Against 
for Class Participation in Prison Education Programs, by David Reutter
  65. News in Brief
  66. Nearly $70,000 Awarded for Illinois Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, by David Reutter

More from these topics: