Class Certified in Challenge to Mailed Book Ban at Indianapolis Jail
by Chuck Sharman
On June 13, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted class certification to a complaint filed against the Marion County Sheriff, alleging that there is a de facto ban on certain books at the County Adult Detention Center (ADC) in Indianapolis.
The complaint was filed in March 2025 by Angela Darty, who has been detained at the jail since January 2024. It outlines the ban on physical mail, which is scanned by a third-party vendor in Maryland and delivered to detainees on electronic tablets. The provision of tablets is also cited by jailers in refusing to “accept any books or physical publications,” noting that “[i]nmates will be able to purchase digital books, periodicals, and magazines via tablet or kiosk.”
But that’s not as simple as it sounds. Some content on the tablets is free, while other content—including most books and magazines—must be purchased. Use of a tablet itself is free only for 119 minutes each day, after which a detainee must purchase additional time even to access free content or content already purchased. Worse still, the jail does not issue a tablet to everyone detained there; instead, there are only enough tablets for one to be shared by four or five detainees. As the complaint noted, “possession and use of the tablets” is therefore “extremely competitive” and “may be monopolized by certain inmates.”
Though the jail advertises itself as “paperless,” detainees are permitted to retain legal mail in their possession. Some also “possess notebook paper to write to friends or family members (or their lawyers), or simply to take notes, draw, or journal,” the complaint continued. Many “maintain in their possession a physical Bible,” too. In the area where Darty was housed, there was a small collection of donated books, most “Christian-themed”—a particular problem for Darty, who is Buddhist.
Jailers denied Darty’s requests for more Buddhist books or content. When she wrote to the Indiana Buddhist Center, it mailed her books that jailers never delivered, sending them back marked “Return to Sender.” After exhausting the jail grievance procedure, Darty filed her complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, accusing the sheriff—currently Kerry J. Forestal—of violating her First Amendment rights.
Less than three months later, the district court granted certification to a class consisting of “[a]ll persons currently confined, or who will in the future be confined, in the Marion County Adult Detention Center.” Darty was appointed Class representative and her attorneys with the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) were appointed Class Counsel. The case remains pending, and PLN will continue to update developments as they unfold. See: Darty v. Marion Cty. Sheriff, USDC (S.D. Ind.), Case No. 1:25-cv-00534.
As PLN reported, the ACLU challenged a similar book ban at the Howard County Jail in 2023, on behalf of a Christian nonprofit denied the opportunity to send bibles to detainees; under jail policy, the bibles had to be sent by the publisher or by a “verified religious organization.” [See: PLN, Sep. 2023, p.34.] The County reportedly settled that suit in January 2024 with an agreement to let detainees order books from either a publisher or Amazon. See: Unshackled Hearts, Inc. v. Howard Cty. Sheriff, USDC (S.D. Ind.), Case No. 1:23-cv-01079.
Additional source: Kokomo Tribune
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Related legal cases
Darty v. Marion Cty. Sheriff
| Year | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (S.D. Ind.), Case No. 1:25-cv-00534 |
| Level | District Court |
Unshackled Hearts, Inc. v. Howard Cty. Sheriff
| Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (S.D. Ind.), Case No. 1:23-cv-01079 |
| Level | District Court |