:mad: I guess what everyone been saying about the mail may have some truth to it. A friend of mines husband is a inmate at Calipat on C yard and they found some mail that had not been given to inmates in the trash. They took the action of writing a 602 I do believe it was called and the co's tore it up and pushed it back under his cell. I do believe he has gotten in touch with the captain on his yard and was told about this incident, but I dont know what actions have been taken since then. It is a shame that some poeple can be so lazy they didnt feel like handing out mail. I asked did they check to see if it was mail only to inmates on C yard but she didnt know. She has also contacted the captain for that yard and he said he would keep a eye on things but to be honest with you is that good enough? The action has already been done. Just like when a inmate mess up they are punished in some kind of way, so when a co dont do their job, and then is called out on it tossed the paper back to you shred up, there should be some form of punishment as well. I mean dang all that good money they make, passin out mail should be nothing. So if ya loved one says he aint got ya mail, yours could have been one of the letters in the trash. Check it out, call the captain on C yard and see what he has to say about the whole incident. I will get back to ya with the number.

If I were you friend I wouldn't stop at the Captain. I would also contact the Warden of the prison & the Ombudsman in Sacramento. This needs to be addressed and I highly doubt the captain is going to discipline the staff! :angry: It upsets me to hear sh!$ like this because mail is all these men have to look forward to and then for some cold hearted assh@!$ to go and throw the mail in the garbage is just cruel!!!!:blah:

Wow that is crazy! I have a friend that is in corcoran and he started asking that I date time and number my letters. Okay.. date and time I usually do but number them? I thought he was being a little paranoid when he told me the co's mess with the mail. I never dreamed that this could be a real thing. Isn't messing with mail a federal offense? Thanks for the information... I guess I will definitely number all my letters from now on. I spend too much time and thought in writing them for them to end up in the trash without being read.

My man is in Corcoran Waitn4mymail.....the mail lag is close to a month now....it's ridiculous. And to throw the mail away....is that not a federal offence? That guard or guards should be punished for that!

Guards throwing away mail may be illegal, but it's not a federal offense. Once the facility takes position of the mail, it's not covered by post office rules any more. Do you really think we'd allow a MONTH lag before delivery??

I'm sorry but I think there should be some kind of investigation into this..and someone needs to have some consequences put in place. It enrages me to think that someone who is supposed to be enforcing rules is using their power like this.

That is really messed up! Those CO's must be really lazy not to pass out the mail.

I believe you are wrong. Federal law ALWAYS overrides state laws... and the prison system is not exempt.... mail is a RIGHT! and I believe it is not only unconstitutional, it is IMMORAL... I hope BIG action is taken.

to the person who has hard evidence of mail being discarded without being delivered should contact representation and make it a federal case.
I would not hesitate to participate in this action.

Guards throwing away mail may be illegal, but it's not a federal offense. Once the facility takes position of the mail, it's not covered by post office rules any more. Do you really think we'd allow a MONTH lag before delivery??

that is just all full. then they want the inmates to not to react when they act like that. i would also contact the post office that is against the law to do that. he should be locked up. then lets see what his mail would mean to him then. i hope all you ladies go after them for that.

That is some messed up stuff. My friends wasnt recieving any letters but thats not the reason her ex boyfriend was getting to the mail first and ripping up her letters. I dont see how people can be that lazy because thats how the inmates get thru all of this. I would get a hold of as many legal people as you can because they should be fired or something.

The difference here is that the mail HAS been delivered, to the facility. It's like if you get mail addressed to you at work, they have the right to open it and if they don't give it to you, the post office can't do anything about it.
That said, it IS immoral and wrong. As for unconstitutional, I don't know.

I'm sorry but that makes no sense at all to me... so because I live in a condo and all the mail is delivered to the association they don't have to give it to me? I can't imagine that this could be right.... and if it is... its time for some changes!

My pp there hasn't gotten my letter I had sent a month ago! But, he's in D not C. Maybe this might not be the "reason" in my case? I dunno. But that's just WRONG! Mail in the trash...that's low.:(

that is just all full. then they want the inmates to not to react when they act like that. i would also contact the post office that is against the law to do that. he should be locked up. then lets see what his mail would mean to him then. i hope all you ladies go after them for that.

No, it is not against the law for correctional facilities to do that once the USPS delivers the mail to a prison it becomes the property of the prison, not the inmate.
Go here: http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/inmatemail.htm and
Section 274 will explain the guidelines re this issue.


No way of knowing the reason it was thrown out. But I do know that right now ALL the prisons are screening all in/out mail for kites/messages as that is how many greenlights for assaults on staff are given.

Just wanted to say that my man is at Ironwood and he has not received my last letter that I sent to him a month ago. We have had issues with our mail in the past so we always, date, time and number our letters.

As far as the institution mail is concerned--denverswife is correct the mail is the property of the institution until they deliver it to the "real" recipient. (The post office delivers to addresses not persons). As far as throwing mail away--if mail is considered disallowed by the institution, the institution has to let the inmate know this in writing and the mail can either be sent back or destroyed. The inmate has 15 days to respond to the written notification.

If the CO's are tearing up 602's then it's obvious what's really going on. The senders of the mail (that was found in the trash) should be notified so they could file a formal complaint to the warden, and if it were me, I would CC it to the head of CDC in Sac as well as the local newspaper and anyone interested in knowing what may be happening to our loved ones mail.

I believe you are wrong. Federal law ALWAYS overrides state laws... and the prison system is not exempt.... mail is a RIGHT! and I believe it is not only unconstitutional, it is IMMORAL... I hope BIG action is taken.

to the person who has hard evidence of mail being discarded without being delivered should contact representation and make it a federal case.
I would not hesitate to participate in this action.

NO, federal law does not always overide state law, each state is given the power to draw up thier individual laws, hence each state having its own civil/penal codes/statutes/regulations. These must fall under the federal guidelines, as long as they do they will not be subjected to federal scrutiny. It is when a state law is questioned to whether it is within the federal guidelines or not that the U.S. Supreme court takes it under review.
That however is beside the point because the U.S.P.S IS a federal entity and the laws that govern the mail are federal laws and NOT governed by individual states. The U.S.P.S. guidelines are very clear in explaining the federal laws it operates under.

How I see it is that no matter what the law states it goes way beyond that. Like someone stated before, if it is something in the letters that they dont want them to see ( letters from other inmates or nude pics ect..)then they do have to notify them and they have so much time to tell them to trash it or send it back, but I know for a fact that they dont always tell them though because my husband has went off several times thinking I havent sent him something when I did but they sent it back without contacting him. Not only that, even if the letters that were in the trash was to inmates who asked them to trash it, when the inmate wrote that 602 they had no business tearing it up and giving it back to him, it was suppose to be filed and they could have then let the proper ppl know they were told to toss it in the trash. I was reading a article that some news reporter wrote about calipat and in it, it said "The Bureau of Independent Review, a state watchdog unit, will monitor the investigation. The bureau is part of the state Office of Inspector General and was created last year to investigate wrongdoing by prison staff members." That was pertaining to the lil riot they had but im sure they can add this incident on to that or make it its own case. So I will be looking into that tomorrow.
P.S. Have you all taken a look at that ********* site where the co's go to post? It is a trip how they talk about us visitors of inmates like we all take drugs and illegal stuff in, and how they disrespect our loved ones like they better than them. I really want to toss the bible at them because no sin is greater than the other and I know they have sined so they are no better than any of the the men and women in any prison.

How I see it is that no matter what the law states it goes way beyond that. Like someone stated before, if it is something in the letters that they dont want them to see ( letters from other inmates or nude pics ect..)then they do have to notify them and they have so much time to tell them to trash it or send it back, but I know for a fact that they dont always tell them though because my husband has went off several times thinking I havent sent him something when I did but they sent it back without contacting him. Not only that, even if the letters that were in the trash was to inmates who asked them to trash it, when the inmate wrote that 602 they had no business tearing it up and giving it back to him, it was suppose to be filed and they could have then let the proper ppl know they were told to toss it in the trash. I was reading a article that some news reporter wrote about calipat and in it, it said "The Bureau of Independent Review, a state watchdog unit, will monitor the investigation. The bureau is part of the state Office of Inspector General and was created last year to investigate wrongdoing by prison staff members." That was pertaining to the lil riot they had but im sure they can add this incident on to that or make it its own case. So I will be looking into that tomorrow.
P.S. Have you all taken a look at that ********* site where the co's go to post? It is a trip how they talk about us visitors of inmates like we all take drugs and illegal stuff in, and how they disrespect our loved ones like they better than them. I really want to toss the bible at them because no sin is greater than the other and I know they have sined so they are no better than any of the the men and women in any prison.

I posted that article about Calpat so I know whats up! I also am a former inmate so I know how sneaky and on the down low some inmates can be. And I know how info gets passed from one facility to the other. They are'nt stressin on a naked pic hon. They are looking for code. You talk about the CO's on PV like they all talk sh*t about inmates and that is just not true. It is true that SOME do and I find SOME of the comments and attitudes that are given on there EXTREMELY offensive and WAY out of line. But to say that all in general are that way would be just as wrong as them saying that all inmates are the same, a mentality that neither benefits or learns from. So in my opinion saying that they are all the same makes one no better than what one is accusing them of.

i would call the post office and see what they have to say and maybe they will go after them

Calling the post office won't help. It's not a postal issue.
Once the mail is delivered, or actually picked up, it becomes the property of the facility, NOT THE PROPERTY OF THE INMATE. Special rules and laws apply to prison mail.

Calling the post office won't help. It's not a postal issue.
Once the mail is delivered, or actually picked up, it becomes the property of the facility, NOT THE PROPERTY OF THE INMATE. Special rules and laws apply to prison mail.

Thank you denverswife! I posted the link to the USPS website that states this but nobody seems to want to know what the law is on this, just keep batting it around! So here it is: I have provided the definition to the word "censor" also below.


Section 274.96 Mail Addressed to Prisoners States: “Authorized personnel of prisons, jails or other correctional institutions, under rules and regulations promulgated by the institution, may open, examine and censor mail sent from or addressed to an inmate of the institution. An inmate may designate in writing an agent outside the institution to receive his or her mail, either through an authorized address of the agent, if the mail is so addressed, or at the delivery post office serving the institution, if the mail is addressed to the inmate at the institution.”
If an inmate consents to sending or receiving mail at the institution, the inmate’s mail, both incoming and outgoing, is subject to being opened, examined and censored. Moreover, once the U.S. Postal Service delivers the mail, it becomes the property of the institution, not the inmate. It is up to the discretion of the institution as to how mail will be processed. Outgoing mail is also the property of the institution until it is handed over to the U.S. Postal Service. Until it is accepted by a U.S. Postal Service employee or deposited in one of its receptacles, correspondence is no different than any other inmate property. Correctional facilities would be well within their authority to open, examine and censor outgoing correspondence and packages. Most facilities have a system to allow private communication for special mail such as legal correspondence, communications with members of Congress, courts and other similar circumstances. These policies do not necessarily preclude the screening of inmate mail for dangerous materials.
http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/inmatemail.htm


cen·sor
n.

A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.

I dont know where you seen in my post that I said ALL co's talk mess. I only read a few things and left that site because I didnt like what I seen. When I said "they" I am speaking on the ones who were putting all that crazy stuff. I happen to like alot of co's at the prison my husband is at and I also got along well with the co's at the prison I was in, so you might want to re-read what I put cuz it doesnt say all co's and some do trip off nude pis because I have had them sent back several times. I believe it just depends on what facility. But back on the topic at hand. I made some phone calls today about the situation and all I kept getting was them taking down my number and saying they would have the proper person get back to me, so we shall see what happens. And to any co's that read this, how I see it...if you are not the type to do wrong against inmates and visitors then im sure you wouldnt get offended off what I put because it doesnt pertain to you. On that note, I hope everyones loved ones are ok and you all are in my prayers.

How I see it is that no matter what the law states it goes way beyond that. Like someone stated before, if it is something in the letters that they dont want them to see ( letters from other inmates or nude pics ect..)then they do have to notify them and they have so much time to tell them to trash it or send it back, but I know for a fact that they dont always tell them though because my husband has went off several times thinking I havent sent him something when I did but they sent it back without contacting him. Not only that, even if the letters that were in the trash was to inmates who asked them to trash it, when the inmate wrote that 602 they had no business tearing it up and giving it back to him, it was suppose to be filed and they could have then let the proper ppl know they were told to toss it in the trash. I was reading a article that some news reporter wrote about calipat and in it, it said "The Bureau of Independent Review, a state watchdog unit, will monitor the investigation. The bureau is part of the state Office of Inspector General and was created last year to investigate wrongdoing by prison staff members." That was pertaining to the lil riot they had but im sure they can add this incident on to that or make it its own case. So I will be looking into that tomorrow.
P.S. Have you all taken a look at that ********* site where the co's go to post? It is a trip how they talk about us visitors of inmates like we all take drugs and illegal stuff in, and how they disrespect our loved ones like they better than them. I really want to toss the bible at them because no sin is greater than the other and I know they have sined so they are no better than any of the the men and women in any prison.


You did not say "some" or "a few" or even "some of them", you said "they" which is grouping "them" all together. If that is not what you meant,then what did you mean and how would anyone know that you do not feel that way about all of them?

I agree that Paco Villa's site has MANY cold-hearted, anti-inmate, anti-inmates'-loved-ones posts.

It's upsetting if only because we are far more sypathetic to COs here at PTO than that site is to "us"... but, please remember that PV's site represents an extreme fringe element, I know many COs do NOT relate to the views on that site.

OOOPS -- back on topic, in prison there is NO legal expectation of privacy. Your mail, your phone calls, ANY communication can be intercepted, copied or recorded at any time.

Doesn't mean it's morally right, but as we all know, "right" and "legal" are two different things. Throwing mail away, however, might be illegal, but of course you'd have to prove it.

I agree that Paco Villa's site has MANY cold-hearted, anti-inmate, anti-inmates'-loved-ones posts.

It's upsetting if only because we are far more sypathetic to COs here at PTO than that site is to "us"... but, please remember that PV's site represents an extreme fringe element, I know many COs do NOT relate to the views on that site.


You KNOW I agree with you qwerty. In an erlier post in this thread I said that I do find some of the talk on PV extremely offensive and way out of control. I am not disagreeing w/that one bit. But there are also some very respectful and fair CO's on there also. I do also agree that we are far more welcoming to them visiting here than us there.

OK let me help YOU out because you seem to be the only one who has something to say about my choice of words. When I said "They" and "Them" I am speaking on the co's who posted the stuff I seen, the off the wall statements I read on the ********* site. I hope this has cleared everything up and if not...sorry, but I am speaking my thoughts which im entitled to jus as everyone else is. So anyways has anyone whose loved one was on lockdown had the chance to go visit them since they been off? I hope your visits have been wonderful, and for those of us still waiting, be patient, our time is coming soon. Godbless you all.

How I see it is that no matter what the law states it goes way beyond that. Like someone stated before, if it is something in the letters that they dont want them to see ( letters from other inmates or nude pics ect..)then they do have to notify them and they have so much time to tell them to trash it or send it back, but I know for a fact that they dont always tell them though because my husband has went off several times thinking I havent sent him something when I did but they sent it back without contacting him. Not only that, even if the letters that were in the trash was to inmates who asked them to trash it, when the inmate wrote that 602 they had no business tearing it up and giving it back to him, it was suppose to be filed and they could have then let the proper ppl know they were told to toss it in the trash. I was reading a article that some news reporter wrote about calipat and in it, it said "The Bureau of Independent Review, a state watchdog unit, will monitor the investigation. The bureau is part of the state Office of Inspector General and was created last year to investigate wrongdoing by prison staff members." That was pertaining to the lil riot they had but im sure they can add this incident on to that or make it its own case. So I will be looking into that tomorrow.
P.S. Have you all taken a look at that ********* site where the co's go to post? It is a trip how they talk about us visitors of inmates like we all take drugs and illegal stuff in, and how they disrespect our loved ones like they better than them. I really want to toss the bible at them because no sin is greater than the other and I know they have sined so they are no better than any of the the men and women in any prison.

Please, show me where it says that they have to notify an inmate if they throw out there mail? PLEASE?! Show me and I will humbly take my licks. I have posted twice where it says by federal law that the mail is NOT the property of the inmates IT IS the property of THE PRISON and THE PRISON CAN do what they see fit with incoming and outgoing mail. You are spinning you're wheels on something that is a done deal. Ever heard the term "pick you're battles". Have you even bothered to read the USPS protocol regarding inmate mail?

OK let me help YOU out because you seem to be the only one who has something to say about my choice of words. When I said "They" and "Them" I am speaking on the co's who posted the stuff I seen, the off the wall statements I read on the ********* site. I hope this has cleared everything up and if not...sorry, but I am speaking my thoughts which im entitled to jus as everyone else is. So anyways has anyone whose loved one was on lockdown had the chance to go visit them since they been off? I hope your visits have been wonderful, and for those of us still waiting, be patient, our time is coming soon. Godbless you all.

You are off topic

OK let me help YOU out because you seem to be the only one who has something to say about my choice of words. When I said "They" and "Them" I am speaking on the co's who posted the stuff I seen, the off the wall statements I read on the ********* site. I hope this has cleared everything up and if not...sorry, but I am speaking my thoughts which im entitled to jus as everyone else is. So anyways has anyone whose loved one was on lockdown had the chance to go visit them since they been off? I hope your visits have been wonderful, and for those of us still waiting, be patient, our time is coming soon. Godbless you all.

OK. Let me help you out, it's called proper english. And YOU cannot ASSUME that others will know what you mean if you do not use it.

PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC!

THANK YOU

(http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128552)

Im not gonna even respond to the other madness because we all have a right to our own opinion and I expressed mines and vise versa, but as far as notifying the inmate when they send mail back, I got that information from the mail room at the prison my husband is at, and he has gotten the form in the past that let him know they sent my letter back due to alot of different things I sent that he couldnt have. I have read yor post about the post office and all that, and I understand what you are saying, but im only going off what was told to me and what has happened to me by the mail room that I have to deal with. I changed the topic because I like to hear good news about people on here, I come here for the love and support not to argue. So im leaving this subject alone. OK cat Godbless

Im not gonna even respond to the other madness because we all have a right to our own opinion and I expressed mines and vise versa, but as far as notifying the inmate when they send mail back, I got that information from the mail room at the prison my husband is at, and he has gotten the form in the past that let him know they sent my letter back due to alot of different things I sent that he couldnt have. I have read yor post about the post office and all that, and I understand what you are saying, but im only going off what was told to me and what has happened to me by the mail room that I have to deal with. I changed the topic because I like to hear good news about people on here, I come here for the love and support not to argue. So im leaving this subject alone. OK cat Godbless

I am sure that whoever told you that in the mailroom overides FEDERAL law, so go for what you know. Nobody can force you to read the actual law on it, thats a choice you will have to make for yourself. Its you're time, waste it on what you choose. Take care and good luck!

I have been going thru a personal hell over the mail. I sent some case law, examples for points and answer, stats of the case, etc to my man on the 29 of August to assist him in preparing his response to the opposition to his writ-- very important. On the front of the envelope I wrote "time sensitive materials" (since the resp. needed to be filed the 13 of Sept., so he had to mail it by the 5th to ensure it got to the court, so he needed info ASAP to put it together) ....
Also, on Sept 3 I mailed a M/O priority mail, for his canteen (due on the 7th I think) and the postal worker assured me that it would be on the first truck out of the morning ( 10am) so even with the holiday on Monday, He should recieve it no later than the 6.
Guess What???? He didn't get called up for the M/O until the 9th-- yet confirmation has recieving Post office turning it around for delivery same day ( sat) which means it would have been delivered to CSATF that Tuesday. So it sat in the mail room, and he missed canteen...:angry:
And, not only did he NOT get legal info on time, he has YET to recieve it!!! Nice, huh??? Mail that is obviously important being purposefully held back is irresponsible.
Throwing it away???Woa...can't imagine the mentality behind that one. :eek:

Hi
My son hadn't received my last letters - he calls once a week so I can fill him in on anything important - it took 2 months for him to get his quarterly package (lots of stuff was stale!) - sometimes I feel if I complain he will get the worst end of it - I agree to write to the Ombusman, also call the warden's office. Keep hanging in there, that's what we can do!
Batmansmom

If the intended addressee does not recieve the mail, it is a federal offense to tamper with the delivery of the mail

If the intended addressee does not recieve the mail, it is a federal offense to tamper with the delivery of the mail


No, it is not! Once the mail is delivered to the prison, it becomes the property of the prison, not the inmate. An inmate can however opt for mail addressed to him to be re-routed to another person or entity outside the prison. The inmate has NO rights by law when it comes to mail, except for mail from attorneys, or other legal type persons, ie: the DA, courts. Is anyone reading the USPS section governed by federal law?

Well since I am the one that told stillgotmyjoy about the mail that was thrown out I thought that I would respond to the subject. According to Lt. Madden in the Warden's office it is a federal offense for them to throw out the mail. It is possible that even though there is a federal law stating that once the mail is in the hands of the prison that it does not fall under federal law anymore each Prison may not adhere to this and therefore, maybe at Calipatria the use the same rules as if you were receiving mail on the streets. Just because there is a law stating one thing doesn't mean that everyone adheres to it. We can bend the law to sometimes fit the situation. Maybe at this prison they know that CO's have in the past thrown out mail so that is why they say it is a federal offense so that they wouldn't continue to have the problem. Besides, I don't care what type of law there is no one has the right to throw out anyones mail just because they want to be lazy and not do their job. As long as the mail didn't contain anything illegal in it then the inmates should have received it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sure that whoever told you that in the mailroom overides FEDERAL law, so go for what you know. Nobody can force you to read the actual law on it, thats a choice you will have to make for yourself. Its you're time, waste it on what you choose. Take care and good luck!

I think what she is referring to is from Title 15. Here is the rule from Title 15 in California:

(5) Withheld/Disallowed Mail. First class mail addressed to an inmate,
any publication, package, or an enclosure in otherwise acceptable first
class mail, which is specifically prohibited by the provisions of this article
or by facility mail procedures, may be disposed of as provided in
subsection (B) without holding the item of mail pending appeal but with
notice as required in subsections (A) and (B). When mail is withheld,
based upon a judgmental or interpretive decision of staff, it shall be
retained by the facility for not less than 15 days pending actions listed in
(A) and (B) below.

(A) The inmate will be promptly informed in writing of the reason the
mail is being disallowed; the disposition to be made of the mail; the name
of the official disallowing the mail; and, the name of the official to whom
an appeal may be directed. The notice to the inmate shall include the
name and date of the publication, or the name and address of the sender,
and shall inform the inmate of the disposition that shall be made, if an
appeal is not submitted to the named official within 15 days of the date of
the notice.

(B) Incoming mail disallowed under the provisions of this article, under
facility procedures, or pursuant to an appeal, shall be destroyed or mailed
at the inmate's expense to an approved outside correspondent. The
undelivered mail shall be destroyed 15 days after the notification of
undelivered mail is forwarded to the inmate unless the inmate designates
who is to receive the mail and authorizes withdrawal from their trust
account to pay for the expense of mailing, or as authorized by the
institution head, provides sufficient postage stamps already in the inmate's
possession.

Ok, how's this? Let's say no one disputes the position of the institution and LIMITED (yes limited) ownership of mail entering a facility.... however.... The following decision of The Supreme Court is an interesting one, and I believe it supercedes any argument of who the mail belongs to from point A to point B... The discussion here WAS about CO's allegedly disposing of correspondance instead of distributing it, and possibility of mail withholding in other circumstances.
Check this out:
Communication by letter is not accomplished by the act of writing words on paper. Rather, it is effected only when the letter is read by the addressee. Both parties to the correspondence have an interest in securing that result, and censorship of the communication between them necessarily impinges on the interest of each. Whatever the status of a prisoner's claim to uncensored correspondence with an outsider, it is plain that the latter's interest is grounded in the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. And this does not depend on whether the nonprisoner correspondent is the author or intended recipient of a particular letter, for the addressee as well as the sender of direct personal correspondence [416 U.S. 396, 409] derives from the First and Fourteenth Amendments a protection against unjustified governmental interference with the intended communication. Lamont v. Postmaster General, 381 U.S. 301 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=381&invol=301)(1965); accord, Kleindienst v. Mandel, 408 U.S. 753, 762 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=408&invol=753#762)-765 (1972); Martin v. City of Struthers, 319 U.S. 141, 143 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=319&invol=141#143)(1943). We do not deal here with difficult questions of the so-called "right to hear" and third-party standing but with a particular means of communication in which the interests of both parties are inextricably meshed. The wife of a prison inmate who is not permitted to read all that her husband wanted to say to her has suffered an abridgment of her interest in communicating with him as plain as that which results from censorship of her letter to him. In either event, censorship of prisoner mail works a consequential restriction on the First and Fourteenth Amendments rights of those who are not prisoners.

The interest of prisoners and their correspondents in uncensored communication by letter, grounded as it is in the First Amendment, is plainly a "liberty" interest within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment even though qualified of necessity by the circumstance of imprisonment. As such, it is protected from arbitrary governmental invasion. See Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=408&invol=564)(1972); Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=408&invol=593)(1972).

That said, it is determined that although mail is a supposed "priveledge", it is actually a basic need.


Authorized Censorship of inmates mail must have a legitimate interest in penal administration...."[E]ven though the governmental purpose be legitimate and substantial, that purpose cannot be pursued by means that broadly stifle fundamental personal liberties when the end can be more [416 U.S. 396, 424] narrowly achieved." Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=364&invol=479)488 (1960
"the use of the mails is almost as much a part of free speech as the right to use our tongues . . . ." A prisoner does not shed such basic First Amendment rights at the prison gate. 1 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=416&invol=396#ff1)Rather, he "retains all the rights of an ordinary citizen except those expressly, or by necessary implication, taken from [416 U.S. 396, 423] him by law." Coffin v. Reichard, 143 F.2d 443, 445 (CA6 1944).

So,whether or not the prison "owns" the mail or not, there are rules to follow regarding handling of incoming and outgoing mail that need to be followed. The CO's cannot just dispose of or not deliver mail at their will. It IS NOT THEIR RIGHT.....
The District Court required that an inmate be notified of the rejection of a letter written by or addressed to him, that the author of that letter be given a reasonable opportunity to protest that decision, and that complaints be referred to a prison official other than [416 U.S. 396, 419] the person who originally disapproved the correspondence.

oK, i THINK i AM DONE.... just a different angle on basically the same argument...
\cited from : U.S. Supreme Court PROCUNIER v. MARTINEZ, 416 U.S. 396 (1974)

The point is that no inmate was informed of mail being returned. The staff just threw it out.

Thank you Princess

And From the Federal Board of Prisons:

[NOTIFICATION OF REJECTIONS §540.13. When correspondence
is rejected, the Warden shall notify the sender in writing of the
rejection and the reasons for the rejection. The Warden shall
also give notice that the sender may appeal the rejection. The
Warden shall also notify an inmate of the rejection of any letter
addressed to that inmate, along with the reasons for the
rejection and shall notify the inmate of the right to appeal the
rejection. The Warden shall refer an appeal to an official other
than the one who originally disapproved the correspondence. The
Warden shall return rejected correspondence to the sender unless
the correspondence includes plans for or discussion of commission
of a crime or evidence of a crime, in which case there is no need
to return the correspondence or give notice of the rejection, and
the correspondence should be referred to appropriate law
enforcement authorities. Also, contraband need not be returned
to the sender.]

The Warden may not delegate the authority to reject
correspondence or sign the notification letters below the level
of Associate Warden.

The link to the Federal Board of Prisons is from the USPS site and it is:
http://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5265_011.pdf

I was asked to respond on this thread but I am not sure what I can add that hasn't already been said. I do not know what law it falls under, Federal or State. I am only familiar with what the Title 15 says. It says that if we do not give the mail to the inmate we have to give him written notice as to why.

You all know that mail is delayed for many reasons. But even mail that is routed to Squad eventually gets to the inmate when they are done with it. If you have evidence that mail was thrown away it needs to be addressed. However, having worked on facilities for many years now I wish to add this.

I have had to address, many times, things that the inmate think they saw that turn out to be something else entirely. It is all about perception. The last time this particular problem came to my attention it turned out to be empty U-Save-Em envelopes that we use to send state mail around the institution. The inmates just saw the envelopes in the garbage can and assumed that they were inmate mail.

I am not saying that is what happened here as I do not have the details. Just saying that sometimes things are not always as they seem. With that said though, if the inmates or you have evidence that it was inmate mail that was thrown away then by all means go through the channels to get the problem resolved.

I was asked to respond on this thread but I am not sure what I can add that hasn't already been said. I do not know what law it falls under, Federal or State. I am only familiar with what the Title 15 says. It says that if we do not give the mail to the inmate we have to give him written notice as to why.

You all know that mail is delayed for many reasons. But even mail that is routed to Squad eventually gets to the inmate when they are done with it. If you have evidence that mail was thrown away it needs to be addressed. However, having worked on facilities for many years now I wish to add this.

I have had to address, many times, things that the inmate think they saw that turn out to be something else entirely. It is all about perception. The last time this particular problem came to my attention it turned out to be empty U-Save-Em envelopes that we use to send state mail around the institution. The inmates just saw the envelopes in the garbage can and assumed that they were inmate mail.

I am not saying that is what happened here as I do not have the details. Just saying that sometimes things are not always as they seem. With that said though, if the inmates or you have evidence that it was inmate mail that was thrown away then by all means go through the channels to get the problem resolved.


Thank you Sgt! As I said, prove that they have to be notified.... well there is my proof, never said they did'nt, just asked for proof and there it is.
Now as for inmates being able to prove that there ACTUALLY was inmate mail thrown away...unless it had to be signed for, good luck.

This is just terrible. I wonder how many letters and over what time period they were from? Even one letter thrown out is too many. No wonder I read that people who have loved ones in Cali prisons have a difficult time with their mail both incoming and outgoing.

I sure hope that someone gets a handle on how this happened and what they are going to do about preventing it in the future. I feel very sad for all of the inmates and loved ones involved.

This is just terrible. I wonder how many letters and over what time period they were from? Even one letter thrown out is too many. No wonder I read that people who have loved ones in Cali prisons have a difficult time with their mail both incoming and outgoing.

I sure hope that someone gets a handle on how this happened and what they are going to do about preventing it in the future. I feel very sad for all of the inmates and loved ones involved.

It is sad that the families and inmates that have/had "missing mail" have been victims of this type of action. I know that I have had many mis-communication's/misunderstandings that this would explain.

There seems to be a she said he said they said a lot of things that could or could not be all true. Unless there is further truths on this subject please consider this thread closed. Thank You, Barb

The difference here is that the mail HAS been delivered, to the facility. It's like if you get mail addressed to you at work, they have the right to open it and if they don't give it to you, the post office can't do anything about it.
That said, it IS immoral and wrong. As for unconstitutional, I don't know.

they do have to tell you that your not getting that letter and offer for the inmate to pay to have it returned. this has happen twice to my son. once my mother put a sticker on it and then i mailed a print map from map quest. he didnt know the area and wanted to know where he was so he could watch the weather. but i guess they thought he might be trying to take off.

the same thing has been happening in Susanville and it has been going on for the last year that I know of. My honey wrote a 602 and he was moved from a semi private cell to the dorm where they are already over crowded.

I suppose the most frustrating thing is that there isn't a reasonable time frame from when the mail arrives at the facility to the inmate being told it's there, and they just can't have it for X Y or Z reasons. I'd like to know, as of course, I am researching the specifics, for any reason/authority to withhold time sensitive legal research sent to inmate for the purpose of him being able to write an intelligent and correct document to submit to the court, and withholding of that mail without notifying the sender or the inmate. Anyone?? :D

I thought this thread was closed?

I thought this thread was closed?


:rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:

I suppose the most frustrating thing is that there isn't a reasonable time frame from when the mail arrives at the facility to the inmate being told it's there, and they just can't have it for X Y or Z reasons. I'd like to know, as of course, I am researching the specifics, for any reason/authority to withhold time sensitive legal research sent to inmate for the purpose of him being able to write an intelligent and correct document to submit to the court, and withholding of that mail without notifying the sender or the inmate. Anyone?? :D


This thread is closed. You would have to start a new one.

Thread closed.

Phil

PTO Super Moderator