On April 23, Prison Legal News (PLN) filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The plaintiff sued the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (DOC) under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Represented by private counsel, PLN sought monetary and injunctive relief, including attorneys fees. Specifically, the complaint alleged that DOC violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments by not listing PLN as an approved vendor and by refusing to deliver PLN publications to prisoners.

PLN is a news organization that publishes content specifically for the prison population. It publishes a monthly magazine called Prison Legal News and also distributes to inmates books and other materials concerning the legal rights of prisoners. The magazine consists of articles from legal scholars, attorneys, inmates and from the wire services. The plaintiff maintained that from 1998 to 2003, Massachusetts DOC ordered and received PLN publications largely without incident. However, the plaintiff alleged that in 2003, the DOC began refusing to deliver PLN materials -- without any process to challenge the DOC's actions. The plaintiff further claimed that DOC lacked clear guidelines for approving book/magazine vendors at its institutions.

After discovery, on May 12, 2009, the case was dismissed after the parties reached an out-of-court settlement.

Pursuant to the settlement: (1) DOC agreed to pay PLN $5,000 (a figure that includes attorneys fees and costs). (2) DOC agreed to allow PLN to distribute its publications as long as it complied with its "inmate mail" regulations. (3) DOC agreed to provide general notice to all of its inmates that they may order and receive publications from PLN. (4) DOC agreed to notify PLN in writing if any publication sent by PLN is received at the institution but not delivered to the inmate.

Greg Margolis - 02/13/2017


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