Avid v. Taylor – Protecting local bookshop’s First Amendment right to communicate with jail residents

Avid has a protected First Amendment right to communicate with residents at the Gwinnett County Jail. But under the Jail’s current policy, book shipments from Avid are automatically returned, unopened, on the ground that Avid is not an “authorized retailer” approved by the Jail.

The Jail says the policy is necessary to avoid the introduction of contraband into the facility. But the Jail has no criteria or standards for designating authorized retailers and no process for booksellers to apply to become one. According to Jail officials, only Amazon and sometimes Barnes & Noble have been “authorized” to send books.

Represented by the University of Georgia’s First Amendment Clinic and civil rights attorney Zack Greenamyre, Avid is challenging the Jail’s policy as an unconstitutional prior restraint and permitting scheme that violates the First Amendment.

To date, the case has been advanced by students Alex Klein, Madi Blair, Alex Cross, and Clinic fellow Allyson Veile, working under the supervision of Clinic director Clare Norins.

Related news reports: Law360, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Atlanta News First, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fox 5 Atlanta