DATA BEING COMPILED FOR SOUTH BOISE COMPLEX MAILROOM LAWSUIT
Preparing to file a lawsuit involves a number of steps - the first being the identification of issues, known as "claims" before beginning to exhaust administrative or other remedies. Below is a list of claims that Dale Shackelford has compiled in preparing to file suit against the IDOC.
Shackelford is also researching the matter of delays in prisoner emails, both incoming and outgoing where IDOC SOP allows up to 5 days for prisoners to be notified of confiscations, and 10 days for review of the confiscation by investigators. Snail-mail must be delivered within 24 hours, not including holidays or weekends. There is absolutely no legitimate reason to censor email where there is no such censorship of USPS delivered or sent mail (except in certain circumstances) and is required to be sealed prior arriving at the mailroom. Indeed, Shackelford can document several instances where a censored (confiscated) email and/or photo was printed, sent and received by prisoners within a matter of a few days.
If indeed Shackelford includes the email issue in the suit as a claim, the goal is simply to speed the process of sending and receiving emails throughout the IDOC.
CLAIMS TO BE PRESENTED:
> Removing stamps by tearing them from incoming mail/envelopes is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest as evidenced by the failure to remove other stickers routinely allowed to pass on to recipients (air mail, return address, etc), especially where (even used) postage stamps have an intrinsic value, are designed to communicate ideas and information protected by the Free Speech clause of the United States Constitution. Further, the removal of stamps often obliterates postmarks containing dates, origin location and other pertinent data that might be used in legal proceedings, even where the mail is not considered privileged.
> Requiring cell numbers on incoming letters is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest as evidenced by the following:
* Unit staff are (still) required to utilize CIS to determine/verify recipient assignments immediately before handing out mail whether housing, unit and bunk assignments are included in the address by the sender or not.
* IDOC website (inmate search) does not provide cell/bunk assignment information which might be used by senders of mail, correspondence, periodicals or other incoming items via the postal service.
* Based on the frequency of intra-institutional moves and the 4 to 8 weeks it takes to have an address changed on a typical magazine subscription.
> Requiring prisoners to use first class priority postage to send out packages is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest where book rate and other postal classes are available.
> Requiring prisoners to pay surcharge on first-class postage (franked) envelopes to Keefe Commissary Network is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
> Disallowing prisoners use of pre-paid postage envelopes - especially for legal correspondence - is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
> Mailroom staff open incoming mail, resealing it after inspection, then returning the item via the RETURN TO SENDER protocols the envelope and contents - sometimes inserting a[n] additional document(s) before resealing the envelope/package.
* This practice is in direct violation of federal law and is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
* This practice is designed to prevent staff from having to give notice of rejected mail as required by IDOC SOP to the intended recipient, violates Due Process and is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
> Refusing to provide prisoners the receipts/mailing and other such data sent with books, oils, calendars, hobby craft supplies etc. is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest. This also includes Material Data Safety Sheets almost always included with hobby craft orders. (Primarily property room doing this.)
> Removing mailing labels and/or packaging from magazines before delivery is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
> Disallowing prisoner drawings on the outside of outgoing envelopes has no legitimate penological interest.
Shackelford is also researching the matter of delays in prisoner emails, both incoming and outgoing where IDOC SOP allows up to 5 days for prisoners to be notified of confiscations, and 10 days for review of the confiscation by investigators. Snail-mail must be delivered within 24 hours, not including holidays or weekends. There is absolutely no legitimate reason to censor email where there is no such censorship of USPS delivered or sent mail (except in certain circumstances) and is required to be sealed prior arriving at the mailroom. Indeed, Shackelford can document several instances where a censored (confiscated) email and/or photo was printed, sent and received by prisoners within a matter of a few days.
If indeed Shackelford includes the email issue in the suit as a claim, the goal is simply to speed the process of sending and receiving emails throughout the IDOC.
CLAIMS TO BE PRESENTED:
> Removing stamps by tearing them from incoming mail/envelopes is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest as evidenced by the failure to remove other stickers routinely allowed to pass on to recipients (air mail, return address, etc), especially where (even used) postage stamps have an intrinsic value, are designed to communicate ideas and information protected by the Free Speech clause of the United States Constitution. Further, the removal of stamps often obliterates postmarks containing dates, origin location and other pertinent data that might be used in legal proceedings, even where the mail is not considered privileged.
> Requiring cell numbers on incoming letters is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest as evidenced by the following:
* Unit staff are (still) required to utilize CIS to determine/verify recipient assignments immediately before handing out mail whether housing, unit and bunk assignments are included in the address by the sender or not.
* IDOC website (inmate search) does not provide cell/bunk assignment information which might be used by senders of mail, correspondence, periodicals or other incoming items via the postal service.
* Based on the frequency of intra-institutional moves and the 4 to 8 weeks it takes to have an address changed on a typical magazine subscription.
> Requiring prisoners to use first class priority postage to send out packages is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest where book rate and other postal classes are available.
> Requiring prisoners to pay surcharge on first-class postage (franked) envelopes to Keefe Commissary Network is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
> Disallowing prisoners use of pre-paid postage envelopes - especially for legal correspondence - is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
> Mailroom staff open incoming mail, resealing it after inspection, then returning the item via the RETURN TO SENDER protocols the envelope and contents - sometimes inserting a[n] additional document(s) before resealing the envelope/package.
* This practice is in direct violation of federal law and is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
* This practice is designed to prevent staff from having to give notice of rejected mail as required by IDOC SOP to the intended recipient, violates Due Process and is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
> Refusing to provide prisoners the receipts/mailing and other such data sent with books, oils, calendars, hobby craft supplies etc. is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest. This also includes Material Data Safety Sheets almost always included with hobby craft orders. (Primarily property room doing this.)
> Removing mailing labels and/or packaging from magazines before delivery is not rationally related to any legitimate penological interest.
> Disallowing prisoner drawings on the outside of outgoing envelopes has no legitimate penological interest.