On September 13, 2010, the plaintiffs filed a class action against the Sheriff of Santa Rosa County, Florida under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division.

The plaintiffs challenged the defendant's recently instituted policy and practice ("Postcard-Only Mail Policy") that forbids inmates of the Santa Rosa County, Florida jail ("Jail") from sending letters enclosed in envelopes to their parents, children, spouses, friends, other loved ones, or other correspondents. Instead, jail inmates must write all of their correspondences in a postcard format except for privileged/legal mail. The plaintiffs allege this new policy impermissibly restricts inmates' ability to exercise their rights to communicate with correspondents outside the jail and these correspondents' right to receive these inmates' communications and expressions, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Florida Justice Institute, Plaintiffs asked the Court to enjoin the Postcard-Only Mail Policy and declare that it violates their constitutional rights.

On September 20, 2010, the plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint. The next day, the plaintiffs filed a Motion for Class Certification. On December 14, 2010, the plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint. On February 24, 2011, the plaintiffs filed a Third Amended Complaint. On April 15, 2011, the plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction. On May 26, 2011, the plaintiffs' motion for class certification was granted.

On February 13, 2012, the parties entered into a consent decree in which the defendant agreed to: 1) allow inmates to send letters, 2) provide writing materials to inmates upon intake, 3) provide writing materials to indigent inmates, 4) provide indigent inmates with legal writing materials, 5) offer writing materials for sale to all inmates at a reasonable price and with no content or volume restrictions, 6) place no restrictions on the volume or number of writing materials received by inmates from third party sources or other inmates, and 7) provide the plaintiffs with reasonable attorney fees, costs, and expenses. The decree allowed for judicial enforcement.

Xin Chen - 05/20/2011


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