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Supermax inmate's First Amendment lawsuit begins

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 30, 2007 at midnight

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Mark Jordan wants to share his thoughts with the world.

The problem is, Jordan is an inmate at Supermax, the nation's most secure federal prison and home to such well-known prisoners as Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski and Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.

Prison regulations have prohibited inmates from acting as reporters or publishing under a byline because of security concerns.

Jordan argued that the rule isn't applied consistently. Some prisoners have been published without getting in trouble; others, himself included, have been disciplined.

So in a case that could have implications for other federal prisoners, Jordan filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the rule violated his First Amendment rights.

As his trial got under way in Denver on Tuesday, Jordan appeared via video from the Florence prison, where he is serving a sentence until 2048 for bank robbery and killing another inmate.

He told U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger that he is a prolific writer, penning five to 10 letters to the editor each month - most are not published - and dozens of essays since going to prison 13 years ago.

He has had several essays published, including two for which he was disciplined, he said.

Both essays, "The Social Bonds of the Have-Nots" and "Beware the Surveillance Society," were published in Off! magazine.

Jordan, 31, said he prefers to have his essays printed in full because it gets across his "unique prisoner perspective."

"I want to get a message out to the public," he said.

"I just can't do that any other way."

Attorneys for the Bureau of Prisons say that the bureau updated the regulation shortly before Jordan's First Amendment suit was scheduled to go to trial last fall.

The updated rule states that prison officials must decide on a case-by-case basis whether a prisoner's writings are inappropriate or a security risk, and that not all cases are cause for disciplinary action.

They also say that prisoners are given other options for expressing their thoughts and opinions so their First Amendment rights are not violated.

Before the case was rescheduled for this week, Jordan requested that Kaczynski be allowed to testify on his behalf. Krieger denied the request.

The case will be decided by the judge, not a jury.

The trial is scheduled to continue through Thursday.