(a) When commercially published information or material may not be distributed by staff or made available to inmates due to statutory restrictions (for example, a prohibition on the use of appropriated funds to distribute or make available to inmates information or material which is sexually explicit or features nudity), the Warden or designee shall return the information or material to the publisher or sender. The Warden or designee shall advise the publisher or sender that an independent review of the decision may be obtained by writing to the Regional Director within 20 days of receipt of the notification letter. Staff shall provide the inmate with written notice of the action.
(b) Definitions. For the purpose of this section:
(1) Commercially published information or material means any book, booklet, pamphlet, magazine, periodical, newsletter, photograph or other pictorial depiction, or similar document, including stationery and greeting cards, published by any individual, organization, company, or corporation which is distributed or made available through any means or media for a commercial purpose. This definition includes any portion extracted, photocopied, or clipped from such items.
(2) Nudity means a pictorial depiction where genitalia or female breasts are exposed.
(3) Features means the publication contains depictions of nudity or sexually explicit conduct on a routine or regular basis or promotes itself based upon such depictions in the case of individual one-time issues. Publications containing nudity illustrative of medical, educational, or anthropological content may be excluded from this definition.
(4) Sexually explicit means a pictorial depiction of actual or simulated sexual acts including sexual intercourse, oral sex, or masturbation.
[61 FR 57569, Nov. 6, 1996, as amended at 67 FR 77427, Dec. 18, 2002]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
17
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1997–2022 · leading case:
Jordan v. Sosa, 654 F.3d 1012 (10th Cir. 2011).
Jordan v. Sosa, 654 F.3d 1012 (10th Cir. 2011).
· cites it 9× “4 See 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 . Under this regulation, “nudity” means “a pictorial depiction where genitalia or female breasts are exposed.”
Alexander v. Hawk, 159 F.3d 1321 (11th Cir. 1998).
“07 and regulations in 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 . Section 540.72 defines the Ensign Amendment’s terms, such as “nudity,” “features,” and “sexually explicit.”
Jordan v. Sosa, 577 F. Supp. 2d 1162 (D. Colo. 2008).
· cites it 9× “§ 530C(b)(6) (“Ensign Amendment”), and its implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 (a). The portion of the Ensign Amendment relevant to this action provides: Funds available to the Attorney General for the Federal Prison System may be used .”
Reynolds v. Quiros, 25 F.4th 72 (2d Cir. 2022).
“, 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 (b)(3) (allowing inmates in federal correctional facilities access to “[p]ublications containing nudity illustrative of medical, educational, or anthropological content”).”
Ballard v. Holinka, 601 F. Supp. 2d 110 (D.D.C. 2009).
“The definitions of the terms "nudity” and "features” are identical to those set forth in 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 (b)(2), (3), the regulation implementing 28 U.”
Amatel v. Reno, 975 F. Supp. 365 (D.D.C. 1997).
· cites it 4× “On November 6, 1996, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) issued an interim rule that enacted 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 , a regulation implementing the Amendment.”
Ramirez v. Pugh, 486 F. Supp. 2d 421 (M.D. Penn. 2007).
· cites it 2× “” 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 (b)(4). “Nudity” means “a pictorial depiction where genitalia or female breasts are exposed,” and “features” means “the publication contains depictions of nudity or sexually explicit conduct on a routine or regular basis or promotes itself based upon such…”
Prison Legal News v. Stolle, 319 F. Supp. 3d 830 (E.D. Va. 2015).
· cites it 2× “2011) (citing 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 ). Such regulation defines "nudity" as "a pictorial depiction where genitalia or female breasts are exposed," and defines "sexually explicit" as "a pictorial depiction of actual or simulated sexual acts including sexual intercourse, oral sex, or…”
Jewell v. Gonzales, 420 F. Supp. 2d 406 (W.D. Pa. 2006).
“30, 1996), and its implementing regulations, see 28 C.F.R. § 540.72 , which restrict the use of federal funds "to distribute or make available *410 any commercially published information or material to a prisoner” which "is sexually explicit or features nudity.”
In re Martinez, 216 Cal. App. 4th 1141 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).
“As noted, as one of the exhibits to his traverse, petitioner submitted the declaration of Peter Omer, a creative writing professor at San Francisco State University who has also taught at other institutions, written books, and received various literary awards for his work.”
— 28 C.F.R. § 540.72(b)(2) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.