BEARD v. BANKS

Legal Principle at Issue

Whether prison rules that keep newspapers and magazines out of the hands of disruptive Pennsylvania inmates violate the First Amendment.

Action

Reversed and remanded. Petitioning party received a favorable disposition.

Facts/Syllabus

Pennsylvania houses its 40 most dangerous and recalcitrant inmates in a Long Term Segregation Unit. Inmates begin in level 2, which has the most severe restrictions, but may graduate to the less restrictive level 1. Plaintiff-respondent Banks, a level 2 inmate, filed this federal-court action against defendant-petitioner, the Secretary of the Department of Corrections, alleging that a level 2 policy forbidding inmates any access to newspapers, magazines, and photographs violates the First Amendment. During discovery, Banks deposed Deputy Prison Superintendent Dickson and the parties introduced prison policy manuals and related documents into the record. The Secretary then filed a summary judgment motion, along with a statement of undisputed facts and the deposition. 

Rather than filing an opposition to the motion, Banks filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, relying on the undisputed facts, including those in the deposition. Based on this record, the District Court granted the Secretary’s motion and denied Banks’. Reversing the Secretary’s summary judgment award, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the prison regulation could not be supported as a matter of law.