Federal judge nixes jail's newspaper ban, but says articles about gang activities can be cut out
Image from Shutterstock.
A ban on newspapers at Chicago’s Cook County Jail that has been in effect for over 30 years was struck down as unconstitutional on Monday by a federal court.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly saw merit in Sheriff Tom Dart’s security concerns about newspapers, but said they can be addressed short of a full-scale ban the judge described as “extreme” and in violation of the First Amendment.
For example, copies of newspapers can be kept in the jail library and monitored to prevent misuse, the judge said. Meanwhile, articles about local gang activities that might foment discord among imprisoned gang members can be cut out before newspapers are made available to inmates. The Associated Press and the Chicago Sun-Times (sub. req.) have stories.
The plaintiff in the case, Gregory Koger, served time in 2013 after being sentenced to 300 days for simple battery, misdemeanor trespass and resisting arrest. A member of the Ethical Humanist Society, he had gotten into trouble by “videotaping the remarks of a speaker who had cancelled a meeting with the group,” the judge explained in his written opinion.
While at the jail, Koger was not allowed to receive a copy of the Tribune mailed to him by supporters, sparking the suit. He was awarded $1 in nominal damages by Kennelly.
