Louisiana Prison Bans Final Call Newspaper

From our friends at the ACLU of Louisiana:
Hearing on Tuesday Over First Amendment Rights in Louisiana Prison

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will hear arguments tomorrow, August 30th, in the case of an inmate's right to receive a religious publication, “The Final Call,” which has been denied to him.

Henry Leonard, a prisoner held at the David Wade Correctional Center, is a member of the Nation of Islam, the religious order which publishes “The Final Call.” The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections denied Mr. Leonard “The Final Call” because prison officials found the content offensive. On March 31, 2010, Judge Donald Walter of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruled that denying the publication to Mr. Leonard violates his First Amendment rights and ordered the State of Louisiana to allow him to resume receiving it.

The State of Louisiana appealed to the U.S. Fifth Circuit, which hears oral arguments on Tuesday. The ACLU continues to maintain that the First Amendment protects Mr. Leonard's exercise of religion, even in prison.

Arguing for Henry Leonard is Justin Harrison, ACLU Foundation of Louisiana Staff Attorney.

The suit is styled “Henry Leonard v. State of Louisiana et al.” The ACLU of Louisiana's brief on Mr. Leonard's behalf may be found at this link.

The David Wade Correctional Center is in Homer Louisiana, near the Arkansas border.

ACLU of Louisiana Releases Report on NOPD's Lack of Respect for First Amendment

From our friends at the ACLU of Louisiana:

In response to reports of widespread interference with the right to observe and record police activity in New Orleans, today the ACLU of Louisiana released a report outlining the problem and calling on the New Orleans Police Department to conduct training in First Amendment rights. The report recounts fifteen episodes in which police stopped, and sometimes arrested, people simply for observing and recording what the police were doing. The incidents are those of a wide range of people, including Times-Picayune City Editor Gordon Russell, faith-based organization director Don Everard, filmmaker Rick Rowley, lawyers and law students, and ordinary people simply seeking to record what they saw.

Marjorie R. Esman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana, said: “For years, people have told us that the New Orleans Police Department has stopped them from recording police activity and misconduct. The police simply cannot be allowed to abuse their authority by denying observers the fundamental right to watch or to record what they see. A free society demands that private individuals must have the right to record police activity.”

The stories, many of which were part of in-court testimony or sworn statements in the recent litigation involving the arrest of two men who filmed police officers, reflect a variety of fact situations in many different neighborhoods. They share a common pattern of police obstruction without provocation or justification.

Esman continued: “With a new Chief of Police, an independent Police Monitor, and impending oversight by the U.S. Department of Justice, now is the time to ensure that the police be trained on the public's First Amendment rights.”

The report, entitled Observing, photographing, and filming the New Orleans Police Department, asks the police department to explain to officers the First Amendment right to observe, photograph, and film police officers; to include training in the police academy; and to impose discipline on officers who do not respect that fundamental right. It was prepared in conjunction with the Tulane Civil Litigation Clinic, which partnered with the ACLU in recent litigation about this serious problem.

The report is available online here.