Background
Washington state prisoner Joshua D. Lambert filed a pro se action under Section nineteen eighty-three of the United States Code alleging that defendants violated his constitutional rights. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants on multiple claims including First Amendment violations, conspiracy, retaliation, and mail confiscation.
The court’s reasoning
The court affirmed the district court’s judgment, finding that the plaintiff failed to raise triable disputes on key issues. Regarding the First Amendment claim, the court noted that the publisher-only mail policy was not unconstitutional under existing precedent. The court found that the plaintiff failed to allege facts showing conspiracy or retaliation against his attorney. Claims regarding telephone access were dismissed as the plaintiff did not allege retaliation. The court also dismissed claims regarding confiscated books because the plaintiff conceded no books were taken and failed to cite an official policy.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces the requirement for prisoners to provide specific evidence of official policies or conspiracies to sustain civil rights claims against correctional officials.