On November 9, 2011, Prison Legal News (PLN) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Washington under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343, 2201, and 2202 against Chelan County Sheriff's Office. PLN noted specific individuals that had asked to receive PLN materials and had been denied by the Sheriff's Office once the books/publications had arrived. There was no opportunity for PLN to appeal these decisions or receive further information about them. PLN claimed that their right to freedom of expression had been denied as well as their right to due process once the books were returned.

On December 1, 2011, the District Court Judge ordered in a consent decree that defendants' mail policy was a violation of the First Amendment and due process. The court ordered the defendants to stop rejecting books simply based on whether they were subscriptions or paperback books and without due process notice of rejection. The defendants were also ordered to pay $180,000 in damages.

Deeva Shah - 10/02/2014


compress summary