On September 14, 2010, prisoners of the El Paso County Jail filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the El Paso County Sheriff. The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming the Jail's mail policy violated the free speech rights of inmates. Specifically, the plaintiffs challenged the Jail's new policy which limited the vast majority of outgoing prisoner correspondence to postcards. Under the challenged policy, prisoners' outgoing correspondence is restricted to small 4 x 6 inch postcards supplied by the jail. This new policy severely restricts prisoners' ability to communicate with persons outside the jail, in violation of their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Colorado Constitution.

On the same day of the filing of the complaint, the plaintiffs filed a motion to certify class and appoint class counsel. On November 10, 2010, the plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and a hearing on that motion was set for December 22, 2010. However, on December 16, 2010, the defendant rescinded its postcard-only policy. The next day, the parties filed a joint motion to enter a stipulated preliminary injunction and for further relief. On December 20, 2010, Chief Judge Wiley Y. Daniel granted the joint motion for the preliminary injunction that enjoined the defendant from enforcing the postcard-only policy or any other policy that limits prisoners outgoing mail to postcards.

On February 1, 2011, the parties filed a joint motion to hold case in abeyance pending finalization of settlement. That document outlined the terms of the resolution to which the parties had agreed. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix granted the joint motion. On March 28, 2011, the plaintiffs filed an unopposed motion for attorneys' fees requesting the court award $60,000 in attorneys' fees and costs. On that same day, the parties filed a joint motion to approve resolution of class action and grant the plaintiffs' motion for attorneys' fees and costs. .

On March 31, 2011, Judge Wiley granted the plaintiffs' motion to certify class and set the fairness hearing for May 25, 2011, but deferred the plaintiffs' motion for attorneys' fees and costs.

After the fairness hearing, on June 7, 2011, Judge Wiley approved the resolution and permanently enjoined the defendants from enforcing the postcard-only policy or any other policy that limits prisoners' outgoing mail to postcards. Judge Wiley also awarded the plaintiffs $60,000 in attorneys' fees and costs. Accordingly, Judge Wiley dismissed the case. Martinez v. Maketa, 2011 WL 2222129 (D. Colo. June 7, 2011).

Xin Chen - 05/17/2011
Jessica Kincaid - 07/15/2014


compress summary