Opinion ID: 4233792
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Valid Rational Connection

Text: The first Turner factor requires that Cape Girardeau’s interests reflect legitimate, neutral governmental objectives, and “there must be a valid, rational connection between the prison regulation and the legitimate governmental interest put forward to justify it.” Turner, 482 U.S. at 89-90 (internal quotation marks omitted). “[A] regulation cannot be sustained where the logical connection between the regulation and the asserted goal is so remote as to render the policy arbitrary or -7- irrational.” Id. Should we find a valid rational connection, we balance the remaining three factors. See id. We have recognized institutional security as the most compelling government interest in a prison setting. Murphy, 372 F.3d at 983. Institutional efficiency is also a legitimate penological objective. See Barney v. Pulsipher, 143 F.3d 1299, 1313 n.17 (10th Cir. 1998). Lieutenant Todd Stevens of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office proposed the postcard-only policy and stated at trial that the purpose of the policy is to improve the security and efficiency of the jail. Ms. Simpson did not controvert this testimony. Thus, Cape Girardeau’s stated objectives justifying the regulation appear rationally connected to legitimate governmental interests. See Murphy, 372 F.3d at 983; Barney, 143 F.3d at 1313 n.17. The Supreme Court has stated that it is “important to inquire whether prison regulations restricting inmates’ First Amendment rights operated in a neutral fashion, without regard to the content of the expression.” Turner, 482 U.S. at 90. In Thornburgh, the Supreme Court found that when “prison administrators draw distinctions between publications solely on the basis of their potential implications for prison security, the regulations are ‘neutral’ in the technical sense in which” that term was meant and used in Turner. 490 U.S. at 415-16. The policy at issue in Thornburgh stated that it was distinguishing between publications based on prison security, not content, so the Supreme Court found the prison’s distinctions permissible. Id.; see also Human Rights Def. Ctr. v. Bezotte, No. 11-CV-13460, 2017 WL 1250683, at  (E.D. Mich. Mar. 31, 2017) (finding that the postcard-only policy was neutral because it applied to all persons). Similarly, Cape Girardeau implemented the postcard-only policy based on jail security and efficiency, not based on the content of the mail itself, and the policy applied to all non-legal, incoming mail. Therefore, we find that the postcard-only policy is neutral. -8- Cape Girardeau must also demonstrate a logical connection between its goals and the regulation. Turner, 482 U.S. at 89-90. If there is no logical connection, then the regulation is arbitrary and unreasonable and cannot be sustained. Id. Though it may bolster the rationale for a postcard-only policy, Cape Girardeau need not present evidence of previous incidents stemming from the receipt by inmates of letter mail—“prison officials may also seek to prevent harm that has yet to occur.” Murchison v. Rogers, 779 F.3d 882, 890 (8th Cir. 2015). Moreover, Turner does not require “actual proof that a legitimate interest will be furthered by the challenged policy. The connection between the two need only be objectively rational.” Herlein v. Higgins, 172 F.3d 1089, 1091 (8th Cir. 1999). There is a common sense connection between the goal of reducing contraband in the jail and Cape Girardeau’s postcard-only incoming mail policy. See, e.g., Prison Legal News v. Chapman, 44 F. Supp. 3d 1289, 1299 (M.D. Ga. 2014). Ms. Simpson argues that there is no valid rational connection between jail security and a postcardonly policy because there have been no previous incidents of contraband getting into the jail under Cape Girardeau’s previous incoming-mail policy. However, that is not the test. Cape Girardeau may seek to prevent harm that has yet to occur and, as a result, is not required to provide evidence of previous incidents of contraband reaching inmates through the mail in order to adopt a postcard-only incoming mail regulation. See Murchison, 779 F.3d at 890. Cape Girardeau does not even have to show that its interests will actually be furthered by the policy, only that there is a rational relationship between the policy and the objectives. See Herlein, 172 F.3d at 1091. It is reasonable to believe that contraband could be smuggled into the jail via mail. Furthermore, it is a rational concept that limiting non-privileged mail to postcards could reduce the risk of contraband being introduced into the jail through the mail. Accordingly, we find that Cape Girardeau’s postcard-only policy is rationally connected to the legitimate penological objective of jail safety. -9- There is also a common-sense connection between a postcard-only policy and promoting efficiency. See Prison Legal News v. Columbia Cnty., 942 F. Supp. 2d 1068, 1084 (D. Or. 2013). Ms. Simpson argues that Cape Girardeau has not presented evidence that the postcard-only policy has made the jail more efficient. Again, Cape Girardeau does not have to show that efficiency was or will actually be furthered. Herlein, 172 F.3d at 1091. It only needs to show that rationally the policy could lead to more efficiency. Id. Removing the need to open envelopes and shuffle through pages of letters could reasonably allow officers to spend less time and energy checking the mail for contraband. See, e.g., Chapman, 44 F. Supp. 3d at 1299. Therefore, we find that Cape Girardeau’s policy is rationally related to the legitimate penological interest of an efficiently run institution. Because the postcard-only policy is neutral and rationally related to both security and efficiency, the first Turner factor weighs in favor of Cape Girardeau.