Opinion ID: 165368
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Absence of Ready Alternatives

Text: 43 The final factor to be considered is the absence of ready alternatives. Ready alternatives may suggest an exaggerated response to a problem. Defendants maintain that only by allowing purchases through the facility banking system may they adequately prevent strong-arming and circumvention of property restrictions attendant to the behavior modification program. Plaintiffs contend that a special purchase order (SPO) could be developed for subscriptions whereby the donor would state the cost of the publication, the source and manner of payment, and any other necessary information. Aplt. Br. at 10. 44 The Kansas Supreme Court appears to have rejected this alternative as a matter of law concluding that every SPO would require burdensome independent verification by the prison. Rice, 95 P.3d at 1012. It appears that the cash received by inmates through their facility accounts would implicate the same concerns on a larger scale. Be that as it may, the evidentiary basis in our summary judgment record indicates that KDOC maintains a database allowing it to check every publication entering the facility. I R. Doc. 53, Ex. 20 at ¶¶ 3-4 (affidavit of Defendant Patricia Keen, Mailroom Supervisor). If the publication is unsupported by an SPO, the inmate is advised through a form that he has 10 days to indicate whether the item is to be destroyed or forwarded at his expense. Id. at ¶ 4. As the record in Mr. Zimmerman's case makes clear, a facility already expends significant time and effort determining whether publications are truly free. On remand, the district court should consider ready alternatives.