Human Rights Def. Ctr. v. Baxter Cnty.

360 F. Supp. 3d 870
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 22, 2019
DocketCASE NO. 5:17-CV-3070
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 360 F. Supp. 3d 870 (Human Rights Def. Ctr. v. Baxter Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Human Rights Def. Ctr. v. Baxter Cnty., 360 F. Supp. 3d 870 (S.D.N.Y. 2019).

Opinion

TIMOTHY L. BROOKS, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Currently before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff Human Rights Defense Center's ("HRDC") Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 67) contends that Defendant Baxter County's ("the County") adoption of a postcard-only mail policy violates its rights under the First Amendment. It additionally contends that the County's failure to send individual notices each time one of its unsolicited mailings was rejected by the County jail pursuant to this policy and its failure to allow HRDC to challenge each individual rejection amount to due process violations under the Fourteenth Amendment. The County's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 70) contends that the First Amendment challenge asserted by HRDC should be dismissed based upon a recent ruling of the Eighth Circuit upholding a similar policy and that HRDC was not denied due process when the County rejected its unsolicited mailings.

For the reasons explained below, the Court concludes that this is a classic case where both parties have moved for summary judgment as to all claims and where neither party is entitled to complete judgment as a matter of law based on the present record. Nevertheless, it will GRANT IN PART AND DENY IN PART HRDC's Motion (Doc. 67) and GRANT IN PART AND DENY IN PART the County's Motion (Doc. 70).

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

HRDC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with principal offices in Lake Worth, Florida. HRDC's purpose is to "educate prisoners and the public about the destructive *872natures of racism, sexism, and the economic and social costs of prisons to society." (Doc. 1, p. 3). HRDC "accomplishes its mission through litigation, advocacy, and publication and/or distribution of books, magazines and other information concerning prisons and prisoner rights." (Doc. 26-1, p. 1).1 HRDC publishes and distributes Prison Legal News: Dedicated to Protecting Human Rights , a monthly magazine which contains news about prisons, prisoners' rights, and prison facilities and conditions, among other things.2 In addition to Prison Legal News , HRDC also publishes and distributes different books about the criminal justice system, self-help books for prisoners, and informational packets that contain subscription order forms and a book list. As part of its mission, HRDC distributes these mailings to monthly subscribers (civilians and prisoners alike) and to prisoners in 2,600 correctional facilities across the country, including in Arkansas.

HRDC alleges that Defendants3 implemented and adhered to an unconstitutional mail policy that prohibited the delivery of HRDC's publication materials to prisoners at the County's jail. In 2012, the County adopted a new mail policy that requires all incoming mail to be limited to postcards. As a result of this policy, HRDC claims that Defendants refused to deliver issues and sample issues of Prison Legal News, The Habeas Citebook , informational packets, legal letters, and court opinions sent by HRDC to prisoners held in the Jail.4 Defendants allegedly sent these items back to HRDC with "Refused" or "Return to Sender Post Cards Only" notations, id. at 7, and allegedly failed to return other mailings.

HRDC alleges that it sent several "waves" of unsolicited mailings to the Jail. Paul Wright,5 the founder and Executive Director of HRDC, stated in his Declaration that:

• On August 5, 2016, HRDC mailed books, magazines, and enveloped letters to eleven prisoners in the Jail. Those mailings included a copy of The Habeas Citebook , a sample copy of Prison Legal News , an informational brochure containing a list of other HRDC publications and an order form, and a paper copy of a 2004 decision of the Ninth Circuit (Doc. 69-17, ¶ 19). Most6 of the books, magazines, and letters sent on this date were returned to HRDC. Wright alleges that all of the returned *873items contained one of two markings: either a hand-written note stating "Refused" or a United States Postal Service ("USPS") sticker stating "Return to Sender Refused." Id. at ¶ 21.
• Between September 2016 and January 2017, HRDC also sent monthly subscription issues of Prison Legal News and an annual fundraiser issue to prisoners at the Jail. Id. at ¶ 34. Many of these issues were returned to HRDC.7
• On January 6, 2017, HRDC tried again, this time sending the same mailings to seven prisoners in the Jail. Six days later, HRDC mailed follow-up enveloped letters to those same seven prisoners. Id. at ¶¶ 23, 24. This time, however, only some8 of the mailings sent on January 6 and January 12 were returned to HRDC. All of these returned items had a USPS sticker stating "Return to Sender Insufficient Address." Id. at ¶ 26.
• On May 12, 2017, HRDC tried yet again. This time, the same mailings were sent to twelve prisoners at the jail. Id. at ¶ 28. HRDC followed-up on these mailings by sending enveloped letters to those same twelve prisoners on May 18. Id. at ¶ 29. Most9 of these mailings were allegedly returned to HRDC. Of those that were returned, all of the mailings were stamped "RETURN TO SENDER POSTCARDS ONLY." Id. at ¶ 31. HRDC alleges that these stamps were affixed regardless of whether the inmate was still in the Jail at the time of rejection or not.

Since 2016, HRDC has identified at least one hundred ten (110) items of mail sent to prisoners that Defendants allegedly censored. Id. at ¶ 36. This includes twenty-one (21) issues of Prison Legal News , eleven (11) sample issues of Prison Legal News , twenty-one (21) informational packets, and twenty-four (24) copies of The Habeas Citebook. (Doc. 26, p. 4). HRDC alleges that Defendants' actions violated its constitutional rights, limited its ability to distribute its political message and obtain new customers, and thereby frustrated its organizational mission.

B. Procedural Background

HRDC initially sued the County alongside individual officers of the County who were instrumental in enacting the policy or in rejecting HRDC's repeated mailings. It also sought a preliminary injunction enjoining continued enforcement of the policy. However, in ruling on the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 18) and HRDC's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 26), the Court determined that the individual capacity damage claims against these individuals should be dismissed on the basis of qualified immunity because the law governing HRDC's First and Fourteenth Amendment claims was not sufficiently clear to put these officials on notice that their actions were unconstitutional. See Doc. 49. In addition, and in part because of the unsettled nature of the law, the Court also denied HRDC's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in that same *874order.

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Bluebook (online)
360 F. Supp. 3d 870, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/human-rights-def-ctr-v-baxter-cnty-nysd-2019.