Cassels v. Stalder.

• Position: FREE SPEECH, EXPRESSION, ASSOC. - Brief Article

U.S. District Court

CONVERSATION

CRITICISM

Cassels v. Stalder, 342 F.Supp.2d 555 (M.D.La. 2004). A state prison inmate brought an action claiming that his conviction under a prison rule barring the spread of rumors violated his constitutional rights. The district court entered judgment in favor of the inmate. The court held that the rule was constitutionally vague, where the word "rumor" was so vague that no inmate of ordinary intelligence would know what speech was prohibited. The inmate had been convicted for informing his mother that he had lost a claim for medical treatment. The mother then advertised over the Internet for legal assistance to help...