Filed Date: Oct. 6, 2015
Closed Date: 2018
Clearinghouse coding complete
On October 6, 2015, Prison Legal News (PLN) filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Knoxville) against the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. PLN sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the defendant violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to freedom of speech, due process, and equal protection by unlawfully censoring the books, magazines, and other mail they sent to inmates at the Knox County Jail. PLN claimed that from November 2014 to October 6, 2015, the defendant refused to deliver all publications and enveloped mail sent by PLN to prisoners at Knox County Jail, which censored PLN’s correspondence with inmates at the jail on matters of public concern. PLN also claimed that the defendant failed to inform them of the alleged violation of the jail's mail policy and depriving them of the opportunity to contest the decision. Represented by private counsel, PLN asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
On October 6, 2015, the plaintiffs filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.
On February 3, 2016, Judge Thomas A Varlan granted the plaintiff’s motion to stay the action until March 31, 2016, which suspended court proceedings so that the parties could engage in mediation. All other pending motions, including the plaintiff's Oct. 6 Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, were denied with leave to refile upon lifting the stay. Mediation efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and the plaintiff did not refile their motion.
On October 13, 2016, the defendants filed an amended answer in which they admitted liability on the plaintiff’s First and Fourteenth Amendment claims, stating that the jail had revised their inmate mail policy to remove the restrictions that formed the basis for PLN’s constitutional challenges.
On June 26, 2017, the parties filed a joint stipulation agreeing that: 1) PLN’s claims against the defendants should be dismissed, and 2) PLN sustained $25,000 in compensatory damages as a result of the defendant’s unconstitutional practices and should be awarded that amount. They also agreed that these two stipulations resolved all issues in the case except for the plaintiff’s entitlement to injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, and costs.
The plaintiff moved for a permanent injunction to prevent the defendant from resuming their unconstitutional practices in the future. The defendant argued that their voluntary cessation of unconstitutional conduct was genuine and that returning to their old practices would be an irrational waste of county resources, given the cost of litigation. The court ruled in favor of the defendant, holding that the issue of injunctive relief was moot because the defendant carried its burden of showing it would not readopt its unconstitutional mail policy in the future.
The court noted that its denial of the plaintiff’s motion for permanent injunction did not close the case because the parties had yet to file motions concerning the plaintiff’s entitlement to attorney’s fees, the only remaining issue of the case.
The parties settled as to attorneys fees on April 4, 2018. The amount they settle for is private. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Lakshmi Gopal (10/26/2015)
Nina Orteza (10/23/2018)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4382831/parties/prison-legal-news-v-jones-tv1/
Beach, Jason M. (Tennessee)
Berg, Randall Challen (Tennessee)
Bodney, David Jeremy (Tennessee)
Bracken, Lawrence J. (Tennessee)
Burday, Joshua Hart (Tennessee)
Berg, Randall Challen (Tennessee)
Bodney, David Jeremy (Tennessee)
Bracken, Lawrence J. (Tennessee)
Burday, Joshua Hart (Tennessee)
Chamberlain, Katherine C (Tennessee)
DiGiacomo, Michael Anthony (Tennessee)
Ells, Lisa Adrienne (Tennessee)
FILIPOVITS, JEFFREY R (Tennessee)
Fogel, Jeffrey Edward (Tennessee)
Fulham, Terra White (Tennessee)
Galloway, Angela C (Tennessee)
Glickman, Joshua Aaron (Tennessee)
Harrington, James C. (Tennessee)
Heller, Shawn Alex (Tennessee)
Horrocks, Heather Elizabeth (Tennessee)
Jackson, Caroline Elaine (Tennessee)
Keach, Elmer Robert (Tennessee)
Kiehl, Stephen William (Tennessee)
Lang, Meghan Regina (Tennessee)
Lewis, Mary Eugenia (Tennessee)
Manville, Daniel E (Tennessee)
Marshall, Daniel Lucas (Tennessee)
Marshall, Randall C. (Tennessee)
McGiverin, Brian Rolland (Tennessee)
Medlock, Scott Charles (Tennessee)
Mehta, Leslie Chambers (Tennessee)
Molinario, Michele (Tennessee)
Mutamba, Masimba M (Tennessee)
Neelakanta, Sabarish (Florida)
Ozment, Harry Elliot (Tennessee)
Pochoda, Daniel Joseph (Tennessee)
Rosen, Sanford Jay (Tennessee)
Rosenfield, Steven David (Tennessee)
Sandler, Alyson Rose (Tennessee)
Schmidt, Thomas B. (Tennessee)
Shapanka, Matthew S. (Tennessee)
Shinn-Krantz, Marc J. (Tennessee)
SPEARS, GEORGE BRIAN (Tennessee)
Spore, Andrew Glenn (Tennessee)
Stone-Manista, Krista (Tennessee)
Swanson, Peter Andrew (Tennessee)
Topic, Matthew Vincent (Tennessee)
Trevisani, Dante Pasquale (Tennessee)
Vogel, Brian Arnold (Tennessee)
Walczak, Kenneth M (Tennessee)
Walczak, Witold J. (Tennessee)
Weber, Lance Theodore (Florida)
Yang, Wayne Krause (Tennessee)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4382831/prison-legal-news-v-jones-tv1/
Last updated Dec. 17, 2024, 8:33 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Tennessee
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Oct. 6, 2015
Closing Date: 2018
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Prison Legal News, a nonprofit corporation focused on public education, prisoner education, advocacy, and outreach in support of the rights of prisoners and in furtherance of basic human rights.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Knox County Sheriff's Office (Knox), County
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Unreasonable search and seizure
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General/Misc.: