Washington Prisons Pay Record Censorship Penalty

from Prison Legal News

The magazine Prison Legal News (PLN) in September settled its censorship lawsuit with the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) for an amount of $443,000. PLN, a national monthly magazine which reports on human rights issues affecting prisoners and detainees, successfully sued to end the DOC's policy of censoring PLN correspondence with Washington prisoners. The settlement is believed to be the largest damages and attorney fee payout for prison censorship in American history.

"The outcome of this case vindicates fundamental press freedoms and the right to free speech for publishers and prisoners alike," said Paul Wright, PLN's editor. This is the fourth lawsuit the Washington DOC has lost or settled involving PLN's right to send such materials to Washington prisoners. "We hope that this settlement marks a turning point for the Washington DOC and its historic hostility towards critical media," said Wright.

PLN's lawyer Jesse Wing noted that "the Courts' landmark decisions in this case clearly establish for the first time that the Constitution prohibits prison officials from acting with impunity by arbitrarily censoring even non-subscription correspondence and book catalogs, and from doing so secretly by throwing away mail."

In 2003, US District Judge Robert Lasnik ruled that the DOC's censorship policies were arbitrary and unconstitutional. The court opinion, PLN v. Lehman, held that PLN's free speech rights were being violated by the DOC's refusal to deliver PLN renewal notices, book catalogs, and its non-profit rate correspondence.

The DOC's refusal to notify PLN when prison staff threw away PLN's mail violated constitutional due process, the Court also held. Judge Lasnik permanently prohibited the DOC policies, thereby requiring delivery of correspondence sent by all publishers and notification to publishers and prisoners whenever the DOC censors their mail. The DOC immediately appealed these rulings and Judge Lasnik's decision that its censorship of court rulings and other public documents must be resolved at trial. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld Judge Lasnik's ruling in its entirety.

DOC settled with PLN by paying over $443,000. That amount resulted in payment to PLN of $100,000 as damages and the remaining amount as attorney fees and costs paid to PLN's civil rights lawyers, Jesse Wing and Tim Ford of MacDonald Hoague & Bayless for vindicating PLN's constitutional free speech and due process rights.

In a public records lawsuit, in July 2005, the Washington Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, in favor of PLN on its request for records about medical neglect and mistreatment of prisoners. The DOC has yet to provide the records to which the Court held PLN is entitled.

PLN has successfully sued prisons and jails in Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Alabama, Utah, Kansas and Nevada over the illegitimate censorship of its correspondence, its magazine, and the publications that it distributes.

Founded in 1990, PLN is a Seattle-based non-profit magazine dedicated to protecting human rights in America's prisons and jails. PLN's articles include reports, reviews, and analysis of court rulings and news related to prisoner rights and prison issues. PLN has a nationwide circulation of 4,500 that includes subscribers in all 50 states. Subscribers include lawyers, journalists, judges, courts, public libraries, and universities. An estimated 36,000 people read PLN each month in print and electronic editions. More details about PLN are available on PLN's website at www.prisonlegalnews.org.