Carlos Moreno / KCUR
A human rights group has lost its bid to bar the Johnson County jail from withholding magazines and other publications from jail inmates.
A federal judge denied the Human Rights Defense Center’s request for a preliminary injunction, ruling the jail was within its rights to withhold the materials.
In a lawsuit filed in September, HRDC alleged the staff at the New Century Adult Detention Center refused to deliver dozens of HRDC mailings to inmates, in violation of their First Amendment rights.
But in her 16-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Holly Teeter said that HRDC was not prohibited from sending its publications to inmates – only those with stickers or labels. The jail’s policy prohibits “plastic/wrappings, labels or stickers” on letters or postcards to ensure that contraband isn’t smuggled into the jail.