Resource: Beard v. Banks (2006)

In this decision, the Supreme Court upheld, against a First Amendment challenge, restrictions imposed by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (whose secretary was Jeffrey A. Beard) on inmates’ reading materials. The Court’s 6-2 ruling in Beard v. Banks, 548 U.S. 521 (2006), continued its trend of extending broad deference to prison officials in the face of constitutional challenges.