On April 26, 2018, the non-profit, Big House Books, along with two prisoners at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution (SMCI) filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III was assigned to the case. The plaintiffs sued SMCI and the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), alleging that the MDOC’s new policy of barring prisoners from receiving free books, unless they are religious books, was unconstitutional. More specifically, they brought this case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that this new policy was discriminatory on the basis of religious content and violated the First and the Fourteenth Amendments. Represented by the Mississippi Center for Justice and private counsel, the plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief.

After the plaintiffs filed the complaint, there was little activity in the case, so the court issued an order to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute on December 3, 2018. The plaintiffs responded by filing a stipulation of dismissal on December 19, 2018. The plaintiffs explained that shortly after the complaint was filed, the parties met and reached an agreement to change the policies and practices that led to this lawsuit. The defendants stopped their practice of only allowing prisoners to receive free books if they were religious. In the summer of 2018, MDOC clarified their policy to make clear that free books from distributors, like Big House Books, could be sent to prisoners. The plaintiffs monitored the shipments to prisoners to ensure that the practice changed and found prompt and ongoing compliance. The parties then agreed that the plaintiffs would be paid attorneys’ fees of $6,000 for their work. The case is now closed.

Rebecca Strauss - 06/06/2018
Emily Kempa - 03/25/2021


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