Filed Date: Aug. 23, 1977
Clearinghouse coding complete
In approximately 1977, inmates at the St. Louis City Jail filed a lawsuit against a local judge and others in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. We do not have a copy of the docket or the complaint, but based on a court order in our possession, the suit involved issues of inmates' access to law books and publications, phone privileges and mail censorship.
Following a hearing before a magistrate, and the parties' agreement to proposed order by the magistrate, on January 31, 1978, the court (Judge James H. Meredith) issued an order addressing the law library, inmate access to publications, and phone and mail privileges. Specifically, it required the St. Louis City Jail to maintain a law library, complete with specific legal volumes, as well as stationery and typewriters for inmate use. It also required the jail to establish a policy allowing inmates to have or check out up to ten books at a time in their cells and that prisoners not be denied phone access due to inability to pay. It required that prisoners be allowed two phone calls a week to people of their choice in addition to a reasonable amount of legally-related calls. The order further established that mail could be censored only if it constituted a clear threat to prison security or good order, and that legal mail needed to be opened in the presence of the inmate.
The court's order is the only information we have about this case.
Summary Authors
Denise Lieberman (12/16/2006)
Meredith, James Hargrove (Missouri)
Meredith, James Hargrove (Missouri)
Last updated Jan. 29, 2024, 3:02 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Missouri
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Aug. 23, 1977
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
inmates at the St. Louis City Jail
Public Interest Lawyer: Unknown
Filed Pro Se: Unknown
Class Action Sought: Unknown
Class Action Outcome: Unknown
Defendants
St. Louis City Jail (St. Louis City, St. Louis city), City
Case Details
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 1978 - None
Issues
General:
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Affected Sex or Gender:
Type of Facility: