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HRDC Sues Washington Jail for Rejecting PLN and Other Publications
Loaded on Jan. 1, 2026
by Chuck Sharman
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2026, page 21
Filed under:
Publications/Books,
Due Process,
Censorship,
First Amendment, rights,
HRDC Litigation.
Location:
Washington.
by Chuck Sharman
On November 25, 2025, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), nonprofit publisher of PLN and Criminal Legal News (CLN), filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, accusing Walla Walla County and Jail Commander Steve Barker of violating its First …
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More from this issue:
- Shadow Prisons: How Civil Commitment Leads to Longer Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Ninth Circuit Hands Partial Victory to NaphCare, Remanding Much of $27 Million Jury Verdict in Washington Jail Death Case, by Chuck Sharman
- The DOJ Orders Prison Inspectors to Drop LGBTQ+ Protections
- Class Certified in Challenge to Mailed Book Ban at Indianapolis Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- $450,000 Paid by Missouri County for Jail Detainee’s Death After 11 Days Without Medical Attention, by Chuck Sharman
- Study Finds Parole Hearings and Grants Continue to Fall, by Chuck Sharman
- HRDC Sues New Mexico County for Violating 10-Year-Old Settlement of Censorship Suit, by Chuck Sharman
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars
- Fifth Circuit Rules Against Louisiana Prisoner Seeking to Recoup Money Made at Angola Prison Rodeo, by Douglas Ankney
- Massive $112 Million Jury Verdict for Detainees Held in New York Jail Past Release Date on ICE Detainers, by Chuck Sharman
- New York City Mayor’s Order Opening Rikers Island to ICE Declared Illegal, by Chuck Sharman
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, by Chuck Sharman
- Slender Man Stabber’s Escape Prompts “Serious Questions” for Wisconsin DOC
- Report on “Pay-to-Stay” Fees Makes Strong Case for Their Repeal, by Douglas Ankney
- Exonerated Former Prisoner Wins Election for Chief Record Keeper in New Orleans
- HRDC Sues Washington Jail for Rejecting PLN and Other Publications, by Chuck Sharman
- Maryland Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Who Was Beaten by Guards While Handcuffed, by Douglas Ankney
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan Jailer Accused of Retaliatory Assault, by Chuck Sharman
- Almost $28.3 Million Awarded from NaphCare for Washington Jail Detainee Who Lost Leg to Untreated Gangrene, by Chuck Sharman
- Last of 16 Sentenced in California Prison Aryan Brotherhood Case, As Lawyer Learns He Was Targeted in Murder Plot, by Chuck Sharman
- New York City Jails Face Mounting Death Toll Ahead of Likely Receivership
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Death of “Floridly Psychotic” Detainee Left Untreated in Jail for Months, by Chuck Sharman
- New Jail in Oklahoma Is Costing More than Triple the Amount Voters Approved
- $200,000 for Detainee Thrown in “Rollover” Solitary Without Food or Water at Minnesota Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Alabama Supreme Court Denies DOC’s Improper Venue Objection, by Douglas Ankney
- $4,652 for Jewish Nevada Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma DOC Refuses to Publicly Release Body Camera Footage
- Georgia Bristles at Federal Law that Prohibits Drone Interceptions
- BOP Announces New Conditional Placement Date Calculation, by Chuck Sharman
- Arkansas Guards Can Now Work as Immigration Enforcers
- Chicago Pays Exonerated Prisoners $7.5 Million, Bringing Total to $33.75 Million for Wrongful Convictions, by Chuck Sharman
- Pennsylvania County and Wellpath Pay Over $1.4 Million to Settle Claims of Four Former Jail Detainees, Including Three Who Died by Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- Guards in Los Angeles County Now Wearing Body Cameras
- Third Circuit Rules Awarding BOP Prisoners 54 Days of Good Time Per Year Is Pro-Rated, by Douglas Ankney
- Report Shows How Prison Gerrymanders Distort Democracy Across U.S., by Chuck Sharman
- $3.3 Million Verdict for Detainee’s Fatal Fentanyl Overdose in Southern California Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Slams South Carolina Jail for Violating State Rules
- $939,000 for Nevada Prisoner Left in Wheelchair by Delayed Back Pain Treatment, by Anthony Accurso
- SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Rastafarian Hair-Cutting Case, by Michael Thompson
- Wisconsin DOC Is Not Tracking Work Release Data
- $4 Million Paid to Former Rikers Island Detainee Whose Reports of Repeated Rapes Were Ignored, by Chuck Sharman
- U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Prisoner Denial of Forms for Challenging 455 Days of Solitary, by Douglas Ankney
- Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Detainee’s Jail Food Lawsuit, by Michael Thompson
- Amnesty International Report Claims Torture and Enforced Disappearances at “Alligator Alcatraz”
- California Funds $38 Million Pilot Program to Investigate Methods for Cooling Three Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- “We’re Broken”: As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Are Leaving in Droves for ICE, by Keri Blakinger
- Labor Coalition in Minnesota Demands Disney Contractor Pay Prisoners Minimum Wage
- As California Limits Water Use, People in Prison Face Punishment for Showering, by Steve Brooks, Olivia Hefferman
- $600,000 Awarded So Far in Disgraced Georgia Sheriff’s Trial for Abusing Detainee in Restraint Chair, by Chuck Sharman
- Soaring Medical Costs in Washington Jails, by Michael Thompson
- How I Learned to Transcribe Braille in Prison, by Nathan Gray
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- $30,000 Settlement Reached in Virginia Jail Death That Put Richmond Lockup Under State Oversight, Aug. 1, 2026
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026
- Colorado Pays $245,000 to Muslim Former Prisoner Shaved by Same Guard Who Cost DOC Earlier Settlement with Jewish Prisoner Denied Kosher Meals, Aug. 1, 2026
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026
- $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, Aug. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, Aug. 1, 2026. Sovereign Immunity, Religious Practices, Religious Property, First Amendment, rights, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- California Supreme Court Limits Money Bail for Nonviolent Charges, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Due Process, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Pretrial Detention and Detainees.
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026. Disciplinary Hearings, Due Process, Procedural Default/Error, Evidence - Admissibility, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- 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.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Prisoner Lawsuit over Conditions of Confinement, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Due Process, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Prisoners' Rights, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Nebraska Lifts Suspension of Native American Religious Practices Hours Prior to Federal Court Hearing, June 1, 2026. Denial of Religious Services, Religious Practices, First Amendment, rights, Religious Freedom/Worship, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- 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).