Challenging Postcard-Only Policies in Nevada Jails

Jails in Nye County, North Las Vegas, Humboldt County, and Washoe County all have a policy requiring that non-legal mail be on postcards. On July 5, the ACLU of Nevada sent a letter to these jails informing them that this policy is unconstitutional.

Non-legal jail correspondence may be inspected by correctional staff to search for contraband or evidence of illegal activity. Requiring that letters be on open postcards, however, drastically increases the number of people – guards, other inmates, postal employees, and anyone who lives at the home of the inmate’s addressee – who can see what a letter says. Furthermore, sending several postcards is much more expensive than sending a single letter, especially considering that many inmates and their families are impoverished.

Because of these problems, inmates and their loved ones who are subject to postcard-only policies cannot discuss a variety of sensitive topics, including medical issues, financial matters, prison conditions, and marital or relationship concerns.

There are many reasons that other jails – including all Nevada Department of Corrections facilities – don’t have a postcard-only policy: It doesn’t help ensure safety, it isolates inmates from their loved ones (which encourages recidivism), and it violates the free speech of inmates and those who wish to correspond with them.

The ACLU of Nevada is asking these four jails to reverse this policy, and to use safety precautions that don’t violate the Constitution or isolate inmates and their families even more from one another.