A federal appeals court has declared Arizona’s policy of letting state prison officials read inmates' outgoing mail to their lawyers unconstitutional.
The ruling, by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, reverses a lower court ruling. The court now says Arizona's policy to review private mail violates an inmate’s Sixth Amendment rights to correspond confidentially with his lawyer — and his First Amendment right to free speech.
The office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The inmate sued after a prison officer allegedly denied his request to stop reading a letter addressed to his lawyer. The official allegedly said he was authorized to scan the letter’s content. The appeals court returned the case to a U.S. District judge in Phoenix.
