I Hope This Email Finds You Well: The Eleventh Circuit Addresses the Standard of Review for Incarcerated Persons’ Outgoing Emails

Authors

Olivia Greenblatt

Publication Date

5-2024

Document Type

Casenote

Abstract

An unfortunate and inevitable aspect of incarceration is separation from the outside world. The various constraints on communication exemplify one of the many ways through which incarceration creates this divide. Maintaining the connections that incarcerated people have with their loved ones and communities is essential for fostering a vital support system, facilitating the exchange of information, aiding in successful reintegration, and reducing recidivism upon release. Unfortunately, instead of encouraging and safeguarding this communication, prisons often curtail it through restrictive methods: visitation is limited, phone calls are costly, physical mail involves a time-consuming and intrusive process, and now, email is being constrained. ...

In Benning v. Commissioner, Georgia Dep’t of Corrections, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit assessed how incarcerated persons’ outgoing emails are to be treated, specifically addressing issues of First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights within the prison context.

Recommended Citation

Greenblatt, Olivia (2024) "I Hope This Email Finds You Well: The Eleventh Circuit Addresses the Standard of Review for Incarcerated Persons’ Outgoing Emails," Mercer Law Review: Vol. 75: No. 4, Article 16.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.mercer.edu/jour_mlr/vol75/iss4/16