Beard v. Banks
Ronald Banks, a prisoner confined in Level 2 of the Long Term Segregation Unit (LTSU) of the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh (SCI Pittsburgh), sued the Pennsylvantion Department of Corrections to challenge the constitutionality of a prison policy banning access to newspapers, magazines and photographs for Level 2 inmates. Banks argued that, under Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987), the policy offends their right to free speech either because it bears no rational connection to any legitimate penological interest or because it is an exaggerated response to such an interest. The Department uses the LTSU to confine a small number of inmates who are thought to be too violent or disruptive to house elsewhere. With few exceptions, Level 2 inmates are denied access to newspapers, magazines, or photographs of any kind. Level 1 inmates, who are considered less violent and disruptive, have access to some reading materials and photographs. The Department justifies the policy as a rehavilitative behavior modification tool, reasoning that greater access to reading material wouldl motivate Level 2 inmates to behave better so that they can be reclassified to Level 1. The district court granted the Department's motion to dismiss Banks' claim. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, finding insufficient evidence in the record that the ban reasonably serves the Department's rehabilitative purpose.
Question Presented:
Does a prison policy that denies newspapers, magazines and photographs to the most difficult inmates in the prison system in an effort to promote security
and good behavior violate the 1st Amendment?
