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Punished For Toilet Paper Letter?

By John Mesirow

Texas Inmate George Morgan filed a habeas petition, which the state moved to dismiss. This didn't sit well with Mr. Morgan. So he wrote a note to assistant U.S. attorney Susan San Miguel on toilet paper. What did the note say? As reported by Courthouse News Service:

"Dear Susan, Please use this to wipe your ass, that argument was a bunch of shit! You[rs] Truly, George Morgan."

Ba da bing. Ba da boom.

One of Miguel's co-workers returned the note to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where Morgan is incarcerated.

And?

Morgan was charged with using vulgar language and was punished with a loss of 15 days of credit earned for good behavior.

Morgan appealed, arguing that the punishment violated his right to free speech. And he ... lost.

Judge Jolly acknowledged that prisoners have certain First Amendment rights, but said those rights are restricted by the state's interest in rehabilitating the prisoner.

"Morgan's note demonstrated a completely unjustified disrespect for authority, expressed in the most unacceptably vulgar form, which would be offensive in mainstream society," Jolly wrote.

"It would not be tolerated from a peer member of the bar, and would not be tolerated from a pro se litigant in the free setting."

Here's the source.

Full post as published by Legal Juice on June 12, 2009 (boomark / email).