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Abstract: 

In Reynolds v. Quiros, 143 S.Ct. 199 (2022), the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by a group of Connecticut prisoners after they were unsuccessful in challenging Connecticut Department of Corrections (DOC) policy that prohibited the possession of sexually explicit material for prisoners, with the narrow exception of material that is “literary, artistic, educational, or scientific in nature.” In the initial case, seven inmates in Connecticut filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that the DOC policy violated their First Amendment rights and was unconstitutionally vague and failed to provide notice of the “scope of the prohibited material.” The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal effectively affirmed the ruling by the U.S. Second Circuit, stating that prisoners have no First Amendment right to possess pornographic material. This article analyzes the 2nd Circuit decision and its implications.

Keywords: Reynolds v. Quiros, 25 F.4th 72 (2d Cir. 2022); Four-Part Test for First Amendment Restrictions

Affiliations:  1: Editor.