John Paul Stevens

“ Application of the standard would seem to permit disregard for inmates' constitutional rights whenever the imagination of the warden produces a plausible security concern and a deferential trial court is able to discern a logical connection between that concern and the challenged regulation. Indeed, there is a logical connection between prison discipline and the use of bullwhips on prisoners ”

“ If a prison official deems part of a publication's content even just one page of a book-to present an intolerable security risk, the Bureau's regulations authorize the official to return the entire issue to the publisher. See 28 CFR § 540.71 (e) (1988) . In their challenge to this all-or-nothing rule, respondents argue that First Amendment interests easily could be accommodated if administrators omitted the objectionable material and forwarded the rest of the publication to the inmate. ”

“ The Turner opinion cited and quoted from Martinez more than 20 times; not once did it disapprove Martinez's holding, its standard, or its recognition of a special interest in protecting the First Amendment rights of those who are not prisoners. Notwithstanding, today the Court abandons the premise on which Martinez was grounded. This casual discarding of " 'the secure foundation' " of considered precedent ill serves the orderly development of the law. ”

“ The Bureau's administrative convenience justification thus is insufficient as a matter of law under either the Martinez standard or a "reasonableness" standard. The District Court's contradictory finding simply highlights the likelihood that an attitude of broad judicial deference, coupled with a "reasonableness" standard, will provide inadequate protection for the rights at stake. ”

“ The Court relied on the three interim "prisoners' rights" cases to establish a reasonableness standard for reviewing inmate-to-inmate correspondence. Id., at 89, 107 S.Ct., at 2261. But in its unanimous invalidation of a restriction on inmate marriages, the Court acknowledged that "because the regulation may entail a 'consequential restriction on the [constitutional] rights of those who are not prisoners,' " Martinez might posit the correct level of review. ”

“ Thus he chose an "intermediate" means of evaluating speech restrictions, 416 U.S., at 407, 94 S.Ct., at 1808, allowing censorship if it "further [ed] an important or substantial governmental interest unrelated to the suppression of expression," and "the limitation of First Amendment freedoms [was] no greater than [was] necessary or essential," id., at 413, 94 S.Ct., at 1811. "Prison officials may not censor inmate correspondence simply to eliminate unflattering or unwelcome opinions or factually inaccurate statements," Justice Powell stressed. ”

“ The term "detrimental" invites so many interpretations that it scarcely checks administrators' actions. Similarly, "might facilitate"-in contrast with "encourage" or "advocate"-so attenuates the causal connection between expression and proscribed conduct that the warden has virtually free rein to censor incoming publications. ”

“ Marion officials, acting within Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) regulations, [3] returned the magazine on the ground that "the article entitled 'Medical Murder' would be detrimental to the good order and discipline of this institution. . . . [T] his type of philosophy could guide inmates in this institution into situations which could cause themselves and other inmates problems with the Medical Staff." J.L. 12. Two years after publication a Marion official testified that he believed the article had posed no threat. App. ”