On October 22, 2007, the Prison Legal News (PLN) filed suit against Fulton County and its sheriffs under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. It challenged the Fulton County Jail mail policy that barred prisoners' receipt of any and all books, magazines, and newspapers (other than religious publications). PLN claimed that the jail's policy violated the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment Due Process, as well as Georgia state law. PLN further claimed that the mail policy had previously been declared unconstitutional in the case Daker v. Barrett, No. 1:00-CV-1065-RWS (N.D. Ga. July 22, 2002). PLN sought declaratory and injunctive relief, barring enforcement of the mail policy. The case was assigned to Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr.

Fulton County denied that the mail policy was unconstitutional. On December 18, 2007, PLN moved for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the continued enforcement of the mail policy. Two days later, Fulton County Sheriff instituted a modified mail policy and claimed that the case was moot in light of the new policy.

After hearings on the motion, the court entered a preliminary injunction on February 4, 2008, enjoining enforcement of the old mail policy and requiring that the new mail policy remain in effect. Fulton County was also ordered to notify PLN of any changes made to the new mail policy. Under the new mail policy, the Jail permitted PLN subscriptions to be delivered to imprisoned subscribers.

On March 25, 2008, PLN filed an amended complaint to reflect the changes brought about by the preliminary injunction. The amended complaint refers to the mail policy originally at issue in the case as the former policy and requests declaratory and injunctive relief in the form of an order requiring the defendants to comply with the new, current policy as amended by the parties in settlement negotiations.

On September 2, 2008, the defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. The plaintiff filed a cross-motion for partial summary judgment with regard to the individual liability for nominal damages against the defendant sheriff, an agent of the county. On July 13, 2009, the court denied in part and granted in part the defendant’s motion for summary judgment: it granted the motion as to the injunctive and declaratory relief but denied the motion as it relates to damages against the sheriff in his individual capacity. The court denied PLN’s cross-motion for partial summary judgement.

After what can only be assumed to be settlement negotiations, on November 9, 2009, the court ordered a consent judgment, entering judgment on behalf of the plaintiff and against the defendant in an amont of $30,000. Later that month, PLN filed a motion for costs and fees that the court granted, awarding to the plaintiff $119,759.21. The case is closed.

On April 26, 2016, pursuant to the 2008 order, the defendant provided notice to the court to a proposed change to the mail policy whereby the prison would only allow post-card mailing in order to curtail the flow on contraband through the mailing system. On June 24, 2016, PLN filed a notice of objection to Fulton County’s unilateral change to the court ordered mail policy. The docket ends in January 2017. We do not know how this issue resolved.

Dan Dalton - 02/11/2008
Jake Parker - 05/23/2018


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